Location of Osama bin Laden
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The current location of Osama bin Laden, a major figure suspected of involvement in international terrorism and one of the most wanted people sought by the United States and various other governments, is the subject of investigation by various Western governments.
Bin Laden has been sought since being identified as the alleged instigator of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and subsequent incidents, and for his involvement in and leadership of Al Qaeda.
A large number of unverified claims about his status and location have been made, including rumours of his death in 2005 and 2006, and claims of his visits to various countries. However, despite one of the largest manhunts in history, his location at present remains unknown to those seeking him.[citation needed]
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[edit] Alleged sightings
After the September 11 attacks, the United States demanded that the Taliban authorities deliver bin Laden to face charges of terrorism. The Taliban refused to surrender bin Laden without proof or evidence of his involvement in the September 11 attacks and made a counter-offer to try bin Laden in an Islamic court or extradite him to a third-party country. Both of those offers were rejected by the U.S. government.
Rumours surfaced that bin Laden was killed or fatally injured during U.S. bombardments, most notably near Tora Bora, or that he died of natural causes. According to Gary Berntsen, in his 2005 book, Jawbreaker, a number of al-Qaeda detainees later confirmed that bin Laden had escaped Tora Bora into Pakistan via an eastern route through snow covered mountains in the area of Parachinar, Pakistan. The media reported that bin Laden suffered from a kidney disorder requiring him to have access to advanced medical facilities, possibly kidney dialysis. Ayman al-Zawahiri, a physician and an FBI Most Wanted Terrorist, is thought to have provided medical care to bin Laden.[citation needed]
[edit] 2005
- July - Central Intelligence Agency Director Porter Goss said that he had an "excellent idea" of where bin Laden was located, though he did not elaborate.[1]
- September 23 - bin Laden was believed to be on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. According to the Pakistani press, he had kept a low profile, with as few as ten men guarding him. In October, U.S. authorities said they had no evidence of whether bin Laden was injured or killed as a result of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the disputed area of Kashmir, in northeastern Pakistan.[citation needed]
- November 25 - Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said that he was informed that bin Laden may have died in the October earthquake in Pakistan.[2].
- Early December - in a videotaped message posted on an Islamist website, the deputy leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was reported as saying that the group's leader was alive and still leading their "war against the West".[citation needed]
[edit] 2006
- January 9. Michael Ledeen, a scholar with close ties to the Bush administration, wrote that, "....according to Iranians I trust, Osama bin Laden finally departed this world in mid-December. The al Qaeda leader died of kidney failure and was buried in Iran, where he had spent most of his time since the destruction of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The Iranians who reported this note that this year's message in conjunction with the Muslim Hajj came from his number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, for the first time".[3]
- May 24. ABC News reported on rumours that bin Laden was sighted in the Kumrat Valley in the Kohistan District of Pakistan.[4]
- Sep 21. L'Est Républicain reported that unnamed Saudi police sources believe Osama bin Laden died a few days after contracting typhoid fever in Pakistan on August 23, 2006.[5]
[edit] 2007
- June. Taliban leader Mullah Bakht Mohammed claimed "Sheikh Osama Bin Laden is alive and active. He’s carrying out his duties. The latest proof that he is alive is that he sent me a letter of condolences after the martyrdom of my brother. He advised me to follow my brother’s path."[6]
- September 7. Counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke speculated that Bin Laden's "phony looking beard" in a recent videotaped message may mean his original beard has been shaved to help him blend into different Muslim communities. Clarke told ABC News, "One place where a beard would stand out would be southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia. No one's thought he was there, but that is an environment where most men, Muslim men don't have beards."[7]
- November 2. The late Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto during an interview with Sir David Frost made a reference to Bin Laden as being "murdered" by Omar Saeed Sheikh. During her answer to a question pertaining to the identities of those who had previously attempted her own assassination, Bhutto named Sheikh as a possible suspect while referring to him as "the man who murdered Osama bin Laden."[8] Despite the weight of such a statement, neither Bhutto nor Frost attempted to clarify it.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Complete 911 Timeline Cooperative Research History Commons
- Context of 'Late August 1998: Bin Laden Stops Using His Satellite Phone, Reason Unclear' Cooperative Research History Commons
- Bin Laden Trail 'Stone Cold' Washington Post September 10, 2006
- After a Decade at War With West, Al-Qaeda Still Impervious to Spies Washington Post March 20, 2008
- Terrorism Experts Predict Long Hunt for Bin Laden VOA April 9, 2008
[edit] References
- ^ CIA 'knows Bin Laden whereabouts'.
- ^ Senator Harry Reid Told Osama Bin Laden Killed in Pakistan Earthquake
- ^ Leeden: One Moment in Time
- ^ Bin Laden on the Move; New Sightings in Pakistan
- ^ French paper reports bin Laden dead
- ^ Taliban: Bin Laden alive and well
- ^ New Videotape From Bin Laden; Al Qaeda's No. 1 Still Alive
- ^ Frost over the World - Benazir Bhutto - 02 Nov 07
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