US to double bounty for Osama
2005-01-23 21:47
Washington - The administration of US President George W Bush is likely to double the bounty on al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden to $50m, Time magazine said on Sunday in a report to hit newsstands this week.
The Bush administration has been hunting the al-Qaeda chief since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington with no success, despite US troops scouring Afghanistan's mountainous border with Pakistan where bin Laden is believed to be hiding.
The Time report said the White House is likely to hike the bounty on bin Laden by the end of February acting on legislation passed in November by Congress.
The report said the US state department would also be mounting a new publicity blitz in a bid to snare the Saudi dissident.
- AFP