My dad's invisible, says son of Osama

LONDON - The 18-year-old son of Osama bin Laden has told a British newspaper that his father is hiding in a cave in the Afghan mountains with 300 commandos and will never be caught.

The Sunday Mirror quoted bin Laden's son Abdullah as saying his father had disappeared with 60 trucks filled with satellite equipment on September 11, the day of the suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

The United States and Britain have accused bin Laden of masterminding the attacks.

A Sunday Mirror spokeswoman said the interview was conducted in Peshawar, in Pakistan.

"America and Britain will never track down my father," Abdullah said. "He has vanished into the landscape - he is invisible."

He said his father was ensconced in a cave and actively planning victory against the opposition Northern Alliance and the special forces sent to capture or kill him.

"I am not worried my father will be caught," he said. "He has outsmarted the Americans for many years. He's now in the safest place in the world. Afghan earth will never give up my father."

Abdullah said his younger brother and sister and their mother - who the Sunday Mirror said was bin Laden's fifth wife - were given safe passage to Islamabad after US-led airstrikes on Afghanistan began.

The teenager said his father ordered him to stay with his family after he requested permission to remain and fight.

He said his father never raised his voice because his anger was expressed in silence, and this was enough to terrify his 42 children.

- REUTERS

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