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....that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden died four months ago in a village near Kandahar of severe illness.
According to the newspaper report, Bin Laden was campaigning at Bamiyan, fell very ill, returned to Kandahar where he died and was buried in the Shada graveyard in the shadow of a mountain.
The controversy continues to surround Osama bin Laden and while US and Pakistan officials have often been quoted by the media as saying that his mortal status was just a matter of detail, the hunt is still on and the issue remains a topic of great interest for the media and governments alike.
Funeral prayers have been said for Osama bin Laden over these years with one reported now by the Ausaf, and another in an Egyptian newspaper Al Wafd as far back as December 2001.
Translation of Funeral Article in Egyptian Paper:
al-Wafd, Wednesday, December 26, 2001 Vol 15 No 4633
News of Bin Laden’s Death
and Funeral 10 days ago
Islamabad -
A prominent official in the Afghan Taleban movement announced yesterday the death of Osama bin Laden, the chief of al-Qa’da organization, stating that binLaden suffered serious complications in the lungs and died a natural and quiet death. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, stated to The Observer of Pakistan that he had himself attended the funeral of bin Laden and saw his face prior to burial in Tora Bora 10 days ago. He mentioned that 30 of al-Qa’da fighters attended the burial as well as members of his family and some friends from the Taleban. In the farewell ceremony to his final rest guns were fired in the air. The official stated that it is difficult to pinpoint the burial location of bin Laden because according to the Wahhabi tradition no mark is left by the grave. He stressed that it is unlikely that the American forces would ever uncover any traces of bin Laden.
TEL AVIV — Osama Bin Laden appears to be dead but his colleagues have decided that Al Qaida and its insurgency campaign against the United States will continue, Israeli intelligence sources said.
Al Qaida terrorists have launched a new campaign of economic warfare and are targeting shipping in the Middle East, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
The Israeli sources said Israel and the United States assess that Bin Laden probably died in the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan in December. They said the emergence of new messages by Bin Laden are probably fabrications, Middle East Newsline reported.
But Bin Laden's heir has been chosen and his colleagues have decided to resume Al Qaida's offensive against the United States and Western allies, the sources said.
OSAMA bin Laden's supporters yesterday issued a statement on the internet saying he was dead.
The claims, repeated in the Al Bayan newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, said that the al-Qaeda terror chief died when the Americans bombed the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan.
The details tally with dates of bombing missions in which US intelligence experts suspected that he may have been killed.
The newspaper's story, headlined, "Yes, Osama bin Laden is dead but the Jihad will continue until Judgement Day'', quotes witness Shahid Ayan saying he perished on December 10, 2001.
He said: "On the 24th night of Ramadan (Dec 10) and at a late hour, there were some scary explosions in the place where Osama bin Laden's cave was.
"The cave was completely erased from the ground and became nothing. This was the only cave of the 15 that was destroyed by an enormous 52ft missile and there is no doubt that bin Laden died.''
"I think now, frankly, he is dead for the reason he is a ... kidney patient," Gen. Pervez Musharraf said on Friday in an interview with CNN.
Musharraf said Pakistan knew bin Laden took two dialysis machines into Afghanistan. "One was specifically for his own personal use," he said.
"I don't know if he has been getting all that treatment in Afghanistan now. And the photographs that have been shown of him on television show him extremely weak. ... I would give the first priority that he is dead and the second priority that he is alive somewhere in Afghanistan."
(CBS) FBI counterterrorism chief Dale Watson said Wednesday he believes Osama bin Laden is dead — the first time a senior U.S. law enforcement official has publicly given an opinion on the al Qaeda leader's status.
Watson, speaking at a conference of law enforcement officials at a downtown hotel, quickly emphasized that he had no evidence that bin Laden was dead, but his comments suggest that the FBI has no intelligence that proves bin Laden is alive.
An internet news site close to al-Qaeda reported the death of Osama Bin Laden, creating a firestorm in radical Islamic circles.
The report was followed by denials and accusations of a fabrication fostered on the site by foreign agents.
The London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Friday that the site Minbar Ahl al-Sunnah wa-al-Jama'ah declared, “We now report that the al-Qaeda organization has announced the death of Osama Bin Laden.”
Originally posted by deltaboy
as much as i want to see Osama dead and his body on tv, i would not discount dat he is still alive until there is absolute proof. also the Al Qaida would have said somthing about his death to make him a martyr to the Muslim population so dat he died fighting the all powerful infidel crusaders and dat they also must do the same. i havent seen dat yet so dat pretty much shows dat Osama is still alive unless Al Qaida is embarrassed dat he died from himself or by Allah, or by earthquake or watever which would tell the world how pathetic he is. Al Qaida would have alot of explaining to do as to why Allah would allow the savior to die by natural causes. seriously explaining.
Originally posted by TheShroudOfMemphis
What will be interesting is who will get the blame on the USA's next attack - will Osama get it or will he be announced dead before then?
Originally posted by Seekerof
What is the purpose behind the continued assertions and claims of OBL's death?
What is the purpose behind the continued assertions and claims that OBL is alive, but ever on the run and/or in hiding?
If OBL was indeed factually dead, would any government admit such; would Bush and Blair, as with other Coalition nations, admit such?
The politics of OIL aside, why and whom would benefit from Osama Bin Laden being dead or alive? Bear in mind that the $25+ million dollar reward is for his capture, dead or alive.