US broadcaster CBS said it had obtained an intercepted letter from a Pakistani Taliban commander requesting urgent medical help for Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man. Pakistan's military said it had no information about the report. Chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said: "There is no evidence or information in this regard. We have no reliable information."
Al-Zawahiri has been mistakenly reported killed before in the remote and hostile area where he is believed to be hiding along with other surviving al-Qaeda leaders.