Bin Laden Alive, maybe, somewhat to the East, North.....

According to Pakhistan president Mussharraf Osama may or may not be alive, and might be hiding in an area to the north east, south and west, but not in an area near Tikrit.

Bin Laden alive, says Musharraf
From correspondents in Islamabad, Pakistan
11oct04

PAKISTAN President Pervez Musharraf said today he believed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was alive, but he was unsure where he was hiding.

"I do believe that he is hiding somewhere and I think he is alive," Mr Musharraf told reporters at a joint news conference after talks with visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Asked if he believed bin Laden was in the area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, he said: "I can't be one hundred per cent sure if he is in the border region. He can be there or he cannot be there."

Mr Musharraf said bin Laden, considered the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, "is an enemy who is hiding".

"We are not sure when we can track him down."

Pakistani security forces have been conducting search operations in the rugged tribal terrain near the Afghan border against al-Qaeda fugitives since last year.

Pakistan, a key ally in the US-led war against terrorism, has arrested 600 al-Qaeda-linked militants, with the majority of them handed over to US custody.

Mr Schroeder welcomed the "courageous role Pakistan played in the fight against terrorism, despite the considerable risks".

So there you go. He might be alive and if he is, he is hiding, and if he's dead, well, he's dead. That certainly clears things right up.