Taliban detainee knows Osama's whereabouts: Report

New Delhi, Dec 4: In a important breakthrough in tracking the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, a Taliban detainee held in Pakistan said that he has meet the world's most wanted terrorist and also knew where Laden was in Jan and Feb, 2009.

"In 2009, in January or February I met this friend of mine. He said he had come from meeting Sheikh Osama, and he could arrange for me to meet him," he said about his trusted contact in media reports.

The detainee, who has confirmed meeting Osama several times before the Sep 11, 2001 attack, said that his trusted contact had informed him about Osama's presence in Afghanistan.

He said that the Osama might have been in Ghazni, jugding by the fact that his contact too had come from Ghazni.

Though the authenticity of the claim is yet to be confirmed, the former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel said that they will investigate the matter.

"What is extraordinary about this story is we have someone who has come forward and said, really for the first time, 'I met with Osama bin Laden and I had the opportunity to met him again in the recent past," Riedel said.

Riedel said that if proven right, the information would be an important lead in finding out Laden who is believed to be somewhere between Pakistan and Afghanistan border.

OneIndia News