Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his No.2 are still directing attacks in Afghanistan, a top American commander said, three years after the September 11 attacks that drew US forces into this strife-torn country. Major-General Eric Olson told The Associated Press the trail was cold in the hunt for the alleged mastermind of the 2001 attacks. But he said strikes such as the recent suicide bombing of a US security firm in Kabul bear hallmarks of the militant network. "We've even tied it to a group that has ties to al-Qaeda. It could be a splinter group of some sort," Olson said in an interview after a ceremony at the main US base north of Kabul to mark the third anniversary of the attacks.
Olson, the operational commander of US-led forces in Afghanistan, said the military had not intercepted any radio traffic or instructions from either bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. Still, the involvement of well-trained foreign fighters in attacks near the Pakistani border convinced him that the fugitive leaders were pulling strings. "What we see are their techniques and their tactics here in Afghanistan, so I think it is reasonable to assume that the senior leaders are involved in directing those operations," he said.
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