Bin Laden trail has gone cold

[Mule]

This got about a 5 second mention on the news, I'm not suprised to be honest, it's not like the guy has any oil or anything.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The search for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has gone cold and there is no indication of his whereabouts, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told the Washington Post in an interview published on Sunday.


Musharraf said Pakistani forces were still aggressively pursuing bin Laden but that recent security operations and interrogation had determined only that he was still alive.

"He is alive, but more than that, where he is, no, it'll be just a guess and it won't have much basis," Musharraf was quoted as saying in the interview.

Pressed about whether bin Laden's trail had gone cold, Musharraf told the Post: "Yes, if you mean we don't know, from that point of view, we don't know where he is."

Musharraf met on Saturday with President Bush, who praised his ally's efforts in the war on terrorism and the search for bin Laden, whose al Qaeda militant network carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

One of the most sensitive issues between the two countries is the unsuccessful three-year hunt along the Afghan-Pakistan border for the al Qaeda leader.

"The president has been a determined leader to bring to justice not only people like Osama bin Laden, but to bring to justice those who would inflict harm and pain on his own people," Bush said after their meeting in the Oval Office.

Musharraf told the Post the U.S.-led coalition did not have enough troops in Afghanistan, which had left "voids." He said the United States and its allies needed to speed the training and expansion of the new Afghan army. He also denied reports Pakistani troops were withdrawing from the south Waziristan border region, which is considered a possible hiding place for bin Laden. <!-- article text ends -->

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L058453.htm

[xdir]

He's probably relaxing in a CIA safehouse somewhere in latin america :nowords:

[4me2]

probably in Saudi :




<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Gun battle at US Jeddah mission

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> A big plume of smoke hung over the heavily fortified consulate

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Twelve people are reported to have been killed in an attack on the US consulate in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.

Five non-American consular employees were shot dead, a US official said. Four Saudi guards and three of the suspected militants also died.

Two gunmen were captured as Saudi forces gained control of the compound.

US president George W Bush has said the attack shows "terrorists are still on the move", trying to force the US to withdraw from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

<!-- S IANC --><!-- E IANC -->A Saudi security source told Reuters news agency that heavy security had prevented the attackers from getting into the Jeddah consulate by car.



<!-- S ILIN -->Click here for a map of Jeddah
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They shot their way into the compound through a side entrance, the source said.



Four Saudi guards were killed and two others wounded in the clash, Saudi officials reported.

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Smoke could be seen rising from the compound.


Ben Abu Ismail, Jeddah



<!-- S ILIN -->Your views: Consulate attack
<!-- E ILIN --><!-- S ILIN -->Eyewitness: Attack in Jeddah
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->An employee of the US consulate told the Associated Press news agency that staff had been rushed to a safe area inside.

"We could hear the gunshots outside, but we didn't know what was going on," the employee said.

All Americans who were at the consulate are reported to be safe.

Correspondents say security around the consulate has been extremely tight since a series of bombings by Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia began in 2003, mainly targeting buildings that house foreigners.

They add that the attack must have been very well planned, given the security measures.

'Deviant'

The interior ministry said Monday's attack had been carried by a "deviant group" - a term used by Saudi authorities to refer to supporters of Osama Bin Laden.

<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg>MAIN SAUDI ATTACKS
Nov 1995: Seven killed in blast near US facility in Riyadh
June 1996: Bomb kills 19 US soldiers at Khobar complex
May 2003: Bombers target Riyadh compounds, killing 35
Nov 2003: Suicide bomb kills 17 at Riyadh housing complex
April 2004: Bomber kills five in Riyadh government building
May 2004: Seven die in attack on US firm in Yanbu
May 2004: Attack on oil firm compound in Khobar kills 30



<!-- S ILIN -->Timeline: Saudi violence
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->

"Security forces dealt with them immediately and brought the situation under control. Three of the attackers were killed and two were arrested after they were wounded," the ministry statement added.

In Riyadh, US embassy spokeswoman Carol Kalin said four of the five consular employees killed held administrative jobs, and one was a private contract guard on the consulate's payroll.

Four other local consular workers have been taken to hospital with injuries, she added.

The embassy and the mission in Dhahran had been closed as a precaution following the Jeddah attack, Ms Kalin said.

Previous operations targeting Western interests have been blamed on groups inspired by Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, which wants to drive all non-Muslims out of the kingdom.

The last major attack was in May, when gunmen attacked oil companies and a housing compound in the eastern city of Khobar, killing about 30 people.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/4071387.stm

[salvadorescobar]

probably in Saudi

Erm...I'm Kaiser Soze.