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Osama bin Laden & Mullah Omar Still Alive, Says al-Qaida-Linked Organization
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
The Associated Press

El-Sibaie, who has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for his involvement in terrorist attacks inside Egypt during the 1990s, said the centre has close ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida.

CAIRO -- AP
Osama bin Laden, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad and their senior deputies are still alive, according to a statement released by an organization known for its reliable information on the al-Qaida terror network. The Centre for Studies and Historical Research issued a statement recently saying bin Laden and Omar had extended their condolences to the family of the late Hamza Badni, an Afghan cleric.

The undated statement was distributed on the Internet a few days ago, excepts of which were published in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat on Tuesday.

Part of the statement said: "Mullah Mohammad Omar, his deputy Mohammed Hassan and the other (Taliban) leaders, plus sheik Osama bin Laden and his deputy, sheik Ayman al-Zawahri, pay their condolences to the relatives of the sheik (Badni) and the Pakistani and Afghan people who have lost such rare men in this time."
(More: The Canadian Press News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan