Osama and No 2 safe - Taliban

2004-03-19 11:55

Kabul - Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri are safe and in Afghanistan, not neighbouring Pakistan where an intense manhunt is under way, a Taliban spokesperson said on Friday.

Speaking by satellite phone from southern Afghanistan, Abdul Samad dismissed speculation by Pakistani officials that Al-Zawahiri could be surrounded in the Pakistan border district of South Waziristan, saying he was "100% sure" the al-Qaeda number two was safe.

"All these reports about Ayman al-Zawahiri being surrounded in Pakistan are not true, they are just propaganda by the US and by the Pakistani army to weaken Taliban morale," he said.

"They are all safe and they are on this side of the border," Samad said of the top al-Qaeda leadership.

Afghan military commanders in border regions said on Friday that activities had increased along the porous frontier, believed to be the hiding place of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

Deadly assault

Pakistan has unleashed a deadly assault on its tribal Waziristan border region in an effort to trap or kill al-Qaeda personnel and their Taliban allies.

A commander of the Afghan Militia Force's 25th division in eastern Khost province, Khialbaz Khan, said the American forces had stepped up their operations.

"We have increased our activities, the Americans have increased their activities," he said.

Khost city is about 50km west of the Pakistani border with North Waziristan.

Increased patrols

"We have increased our patrols, also the Americans have increased their patrols. We are after al-Qaeda and Taliban."

US forces launched a new campaign dubbed Operation Mountain Storm to trap al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders on March 7.

Khan said his troops had arrested 13 suspects in the border region, mainly for possession of heavy weapons such as machine guns and mortars.

However, he said it was likely these suspects would be released soon in the heavily-armed Pashtun area because they were not militants.

Meanwhile mortars and rockets were found positioned in the area, suggesting that Taliban are active in the region and preparing to carry out an attack, Khan said.

- AFP