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Bin Laden in city, not cave?
09/10/2007 22:26 - (SA)
London - Osama bin Laden could hide more
easily in a city than a remote tribal region, a former Pakistani
intelligence chief said on Tuesday, challenging the notion that
the al-Qaeda leader is probably holed up in a mountain cave.
Lieutenant-General Asad Durrani, former head of the powerful
Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), said news of
outsiders' presence travels fast in the tribal areas and it
would be hard to keep it secret for years.
"In the countryside or in tribal areas ... it's difficult to
hide yourself because there people live ... and operate in a
manner in which finding out about unusual presence is very
important," Durrani told Reuters in an interview in London.
He said it was true that tribal customs placed great value
on showing hospitality and not betraying a guest. "In the tribal
code, anyone who seeks your protection has to be defended, if
necessary with your life." $25m 'incentive'
However, he added: "I am not sure over a period of four,
five or six years that it would be possible even for the
tribesmen to keep his presence under wraps."
Such information would have travelled or been divulged,
given the incentives, Durrani said in a reference to the $25m US bounty on bin Laden's head.
"My conclusion therefore is it's extremely unlikely that he
is around that place."
Durrani said an urban centre could provide a better refuge.
"Why not a big city? Anywhere in Pakistan, Afghanistan.
Anywhere outside the region where it is easier to keep cover,"
he said. "These are the places where you can hide yourself much
better."
- Reuters
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