Al-Qaida leaders 'safe'

[hang a left]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B185EB5A-7CA4-416F-A68B-4E3AD5A42632.htm

Saturday 20 March 2004, 11:06 Makka Time, 8:06 GMT

The leadership of al-Qaida has proved elusive



Al-Qaida leader Usama bin Ladin and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the target of a full-scale manhunt by hundreds of Pakistani troops in a border region with Afghanistan, are reported to be safe.


"Muslims of the world – don't worry about them, these two guests are fine", a Taliban spokesman Abd Al-Samad, told AP by telephone.

At least 43 people have already been killed in the assault which began early last week, in South Waziristan – a forbidding tribal region, with several mud fortresses, near the border with Afghanistan.

"The operation is on", Pakistani army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said on Saturday. He reported no arrests of any senior al-Qaida member, backing the Taliban spokesman's comments.

[xchrom]

1. he's caught, he's dead, he's almost caught

my head is spinning -- while i certainly believe the pakistanis know more than they let on -- what they let on is a maze.
probably done to bolster musharraf -- then there's the western medias compliance with the bushco office of dissemination -- what none of those folks will talk about is the abject failure that our war on terrorism has been in taking so long to apprehend obl and breaking up al qaeda. i guess spain was some weird anomaly.

[Name removed]

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