A purported Taleban commander says al-Qaida terror network chief Osama bin Laden and Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar are both alive after more than three years on the run.
The commander, identified as Mullah Akhtar Usmani, told Pakistan's private GEO Television both men are in good health but refused to say where they are.
He said Mullah Omar remains in command of the hard-line Islamic militia that formerly ruled Afghanistan. The Taleban remnants have again become active and have been attacking U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, who ousted them in late 2001.
The commander, said to be Mullah Omar's former deputy and now the head of Taleban operations, held a Kalashnikov assault rifle and partly covered his face with a black turban during the interview.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.