God Is Tracking OBL
July 8th, 2005 1:37 pm
Bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, Karzai says,
as Taliban reiterates claim
it is holding U.S. commando
Associated Press
Osama bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said Friday, while a purported Taliban spokesman reiterated a claim that a missing American commando is being held by the rebels and will soon be killed.
Karzai made the comment at a news conference in the capital, Kabul, but gave no suggestion of where he thinks the al-Qaida leader may be hiding.
"God knows where he is. ... We don't know. ... He is not in Afghanistan," he said, without elaborating.
His comment came three days after Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said bin Laden is not in Pakistan and could be hiding in southeastern Afghanistan.
U.S. officials have said they believe bin Laden is somewhere in rugged mountains between the two nations.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore declined to comment on the latest claim that a U.S. Navy SEAL commando has been captured, except to say that "we are continuing to search for him."
The commando is the last of a four-member U.S. Navy SEAL team missing for 11 days in Kunar province, near the Pakistani border. One of the men was rescued and the other two were found dead.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi said the commando is being interrogated and would later be killed.
"Right now the interrogation is taking place of the American who is with us about the American strategy in Afghanistan," he said. "After that ... he will be executed, definitely."
Hakimi has said previously that the Taliban are holding the commando. But information from him in the past has frequently proven exaggerated or untrue, and his exact tie to the Taliban leadership cannot be independently verified.
The claims by the Taliban follow an unprecedented spate of insurgent violence that has left about 700 people dead and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. Afghan officials insist the violence will not disrupt landmark legislative elections slated for September.
Bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, Karzai says,
as Taliban reiterates claim
it is holding U.S. commando
Associated Press
Osama bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said Friday, while a purported Taliban spokesman reiterated a claim that a missing American commando is being held by the rebels and will soon be killed.
Karzai made the comment at a news conference in the capital, Kabul, but gave no suggestion of where he thinks the al-Qaida leader may be hiding.
"God knows where he is. ... We don't know. ... He is not in Afghanistan," he said, without elaborating.
His comment came three days after Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said bin Laden is not in Pakistan and could be hiding in southeastern Afghanistan.
U.S. officials have said they believe bin Laden is somewhere in rugged mountains between the two nations.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore declined to comment on the latest claim that a U.S. Navy SEAL commando has been captured, except to say that "we are continuing to search for him."
The commando is the last of a four-member U.S. Navy SEAL team missing for 11 days in Kunar province, near the Pakistani border. One of the men was rescued and the other two were found dead.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi said the commando is being interrogated and would later be killed.
"Right now the interrogation is taking place of the American who is with us about the American strategy in Afghanistan," he said. "After that ... he will be executed, definitely."
Hakimi has said previously that the Taliban are holding the commando. But information from him in the past has frequently proven exaggerated or untrue, and his exact tie to the Taliban leadership cannot be independently verified.
The claims by the Taliban follow an unprecedented spate of insurgent violence that has left about 700 people dead and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. Afghan officials insist the violence will not disrupt landmark legislative elections slated for September.
posted by Christy at 10:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home