U.S. Military Sure of Catching Bin Laden

Thursday, January 29, 2004

(11:13 PM ET)

By Stephen Graham

Associated Press Writer

Lt. Col. Hilferty said he could not talk about future operations. Pakistani officials said Thursday they would not allow American forces to use their territory for any new offensive. Pakistani Brig. Cheema told The Associated Press he had not heard of the plan for a spring offensive. “As a matter of fact they (the United States) have not contacted us for this purpose.”

Canadian soldiers stand at attention as army pipers play during a memorial service for Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy, 26, of Conception Harbour, Newfoundland, who was killed Tuesday in a suicide bombing attack, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004, in Kabul, Afghanistan. An Afghan civilian was also killed in the attack and three other Canadian soldiers wounded.

Image Credit: Ed Wray -- AP

KABUL, Afghanistan -- AP
The U.S. military is “sure” it will catch Osama bin Laden this year, perhaps within months, a spokesman declared Thursday, but Pakistan said it would not allow American troops to cross the border in search of the al-Qaida leader.

Thursday also was one of the deadliest days for American forces in Afghanistan: Seven soldiers were killed when a weapons cache exploded southwest of the capital. Three other American soldiers were wounded and another was missing after the blast, the U.S. Central Command said.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty's prediction about capturing bin Laden comes as the Army readied a spring offensive against Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts. A U.S. official hinted Wednesday that the offensive might extend into Pakistan.

Bin Laden, chief suspect in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that sparked the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, is believed to be holed up somewhere along the mountainous border.

Pakistani Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema, a senior security official who coordinating counterterrorism efforts with U.S. officials, said Pakistani policies do not allow American troops to operate in the country.

The U.S. commander in the region, Gen. John Abizaid, said Thursday American forces will continue conducting “limited military operations” along the Afghan border, but he has no plans to put U.S. troops inside Pakistan against Pakistani wishes.

(More: Netscape Network News with CNN)

2003 © The Associated Press.

Dan