KABUL – The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday they had not seen
sufficient evidence yet to convince them that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is
dead, their first comment since U.S. officials said the mastermind of the
September 11, 2001 attacks was killed in Pakistan.
"As the Americans did not provide any acceptable evidence to back up their
claim, and as the other aides close to Osama bin Laden have not confirmed or
denied the death ... therefore the Islamic Emirate consider any assertion
premature," said a statement emailed to media by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahid.
The statement said the Islamist group, which harbored bin Laden in southern
Afghanistan before and immediately after the September 11 attacks, would not
offer any comment until they had seen evidence from bin Laden's aides.
President Barack Obama announced the killing of bin Laden, who was found in a
compound in the military garrison town of Abottabad about 60 km (35 miles) north
of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Bin Laden's body was flown out of Pakistan after the raid by a small U.S.
strike team, taken to an aircraft carrier and buried somewhere in the north
Arabian sea on Monday, U.S. officials have said.
Washington has so far not released any photographs of bin Laden's body or the
burial, raising doubts in some Islamist forums about whether he was killed.
A U.S. official told Reuters in Washington on Tuesday that the United States
might release photos of the burial at sea.
Other Islamist groups were quick to denounce the killing of bin Laden, with
many vowing to carry out attacks against Westerners to avenge his death.
But the Taliban had remained quiet until Tuesday, despite a relatively
sophisticated media network they had developed over the past few years.
The once-media shy Taliban, who banned television and music when they ruled
Afghanistan during the late 1990s, are usually quick to publicize their attacks,
opinions or exploits.
Their long silence was seen by some analysts as another deliberate attempt by
the Taliban to distance themselves from al Qaeda as they try to convince the
international community their ambitions are only focused on Afghanistan. Reuters
