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Taliban Say they Have Navy SEAL
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said, while a purported Taliban spokesman reiterated a claim that a missing U.S. navy man is being held by the rebels and will soon be killed.
Karzai made the comment Friday at a news conference in Afghan capital Kabul but gave no suggestion of where he thinks the al-Qaida leader may be hiding.
"God knows where he is...We don't know...He is not in Afghanistan," he said, without elaborating.
His comment came days after Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said bin Laden is not in Pakistan and could be hiding in southeastern Afghanistan.
U.S. officials have said they believe bin Laden is somewhere in rugged mountains between the two countries.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lieut. Cindy Moore declined comment on the latest claim that a U.S. navy special-forces SEAL has been captured, except to say: "We are continuing to search for him."
The SEAL is the last of a four-member team missing for 11 days in Kunar province, near the Pakistani border. One of the men was rescued and the other two were found dead.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi said the man is being interrogated and would later be killed.
"Right now, the interrogation is taking place of the American who is with us about the American strategy in Afghanistan," he said.
"After that...he will be executed, definitely."
Hakimi has said previously the Taliban are holding the man. But information from him in the past has frequently proven exaggerated or untrue and his exact tie to the Taliban leadership cannot be independently verified.
The claims by the Taliban follow unprecedented insurgent violence that has left about 700 people dead and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. Afghan officials insist the violence will not disrupt landmark legislative elections slated for September.
Karzai made the comment Friday at a news conference in Afghan capital Kabul but gave no suggestion of where he thinks the al-Qaida leader may be hiding.
"God knows where he is...We don't know...He is not in Afghanistan," he said, without elaborating.
His comment came days after Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said bin Laden is not in Pakistan and could be hiding in southeastern Afghanistan.
U.S. officials have said they believe bin Laden is somewhere in rugged mountains between the two countries.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lieut. Cindy Moore declined comment on the latest claim that a U.S. navy special-forces SEAL has been captured, except to say: "We are continuing to search for him."
The SEAL is the last of a four-member team missing for 11 days in Kunar province, near the Pakistani border. One of the men was rescued and the other two were found dead.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi said the man is being interrogated and would later be killed.
"Right now, the interrogation is taking place of the American who is with us about the American strategy in Afghanistan," he said.
"After that...he will be executed, definitely."
Hakimi has said previously the Taliban are holding the man. But information from him in the past has frequently proven exaggerated or untrue and his exact tie to the Taliban leadership cannot be independently verified.
The claims by the Taliban follow unprecedented insurgent violence that has left about 700 people dead and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. Afghan officials insist the violence will not disrupt landmark legislative elections slated for September.
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