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Coalition Force Doubts al Qaida Claim
Monday, June 24, 2002
By Denise Duclaux
Reuters

"We are investigating them about the whereabouts of Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden," Deputy Governor Mohammad Shoaib said, adding there were strong possibilities both may be hiding in the mountains of Helmand, Uruzgan or Ghowr provinces.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- Reuters
A spokesman for international forces hunting al Qaida fighters in Afghanistan said Monday a claim by the militant group that it was still 98 percent intact was "wishful thinking."

U.S. army Colonel Roger King also denied reports that hundreds of coalition forces had joined Afghan troops since Saturday in a fresh hunt for fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in the mountains of southern Afghanistan.

Arab satellite broadcaster al-Jazeera aired an undated voice tape Sunday in which a known al Qaida spokesman said 98 percent of the group's leaders, including Osama bin Laden, had survived the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

The spokesman, Sulaiman bu Ghaith, also warned the United States, which blames bin Laden for the Sept. 11 air assaults on New York and Washington, to get ready for more attacks.
King questioned the ability of al Qaida to operate.

"We felt that we have had a significant impact on their ability to perform, command and control. We don't feel that they can effectively do that with their bodies of forces at this time," King told reporters at Bagram Air Base.

"We think that is a direct result of our actions, and I feel if someone from al Qaida says that 98 percent of their command and control is still effective, it's wishful thinking on their part."

* HUNT ON FOR MULLAH OMAR?
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2002 © Reuters, Ltd.

Dan