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| Afghanistan |
| Qanuni sez Mullah Omar's still around. Surprise! |
| 2002-06-04 |
| Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, one of the world's most wanted men, is alive and spending much of his time outside Afghanistan, the interior minister of the interim Afghan government said Monday. "Mullah Omar still exists. He is out of Afghanistan most of the time," Yunis Qanuni told reporters. That's why you can't find him when you're searching in Afghanistan. There's a completely different reason he can't be found in Pakistan. It was the first time an Afghan minister has confirmed the one-eyed Taliban chief and protector of Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was still alive. "He comes and goes to his hideouts in mountainous areas along the border," said Qanuni, referring to the southern areas of Afghanistan on the border with Pakistani. "Unfortunately, those areas are out of our access," Qanuni replied, when asked why the Afghan government and coalition forces led by the United States have failed to arrest him. If they were in Afghanistan they could be bombed, but they're not, so they can't... The comments follow reports that Taliban sympathizers operating on both sides of the southern Afghan border are pasting up stickers warning the United States of a Taliban comeback. I hate that. You know, the guys in turbans, hanging around street corners, making faces at people... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |