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CNN Sunday Morning

Taliban Officials Know Whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, but Will Not Release Location

Aired September 30, 2001 - 09:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning once again from New York City. It is Sunday, September 30th. I'm Bill Hemmer. Jean Meserve also in Washington. Some fascinating developments at this hour, huh Jean?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Bill, and we'll get the very latest from the administration on reports that Taliban officials now know the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Jean. First, updating now, the latest we have in AMERICA'S NEW WAR; Taliban officials again say they know the whereabouts of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, but they say they will not release his location for security reasons. They say he's under the control of Afghanistan.

Also, a U.S. Congressional delegation met with Afghanistan's exiled king and members of the Northern Alliance in Rome, Italy today. That delegation showing it's support for removing Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and installing a newfound government.

More links to terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden, a source telling CNN at least four of the 19 suspected hijackers trained at camps in Afghanistan. Also, this source says, most of the suspects had connections to bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

A trial resumed today in Kabul for eight aid workers charged with trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. Two Americans among the accused in Afghanistan.

The FBI is sending more agents to Germany, this to follow the money trail in the search for the masterminds of the terrorist attacks on America. Authorities believe the September 11th attacks funded and developed in Germany, England and parts of the Middle East.

And with more on the latest at this hour, to Washington now and Jean Meserve, tracking that. Jean.

MESERVE: And we're going to talk about today's striking news, the development from Taliban officials; they now say they know the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and have him in their custody. Tom Mintier joins us now from Islamabad, Pakistan with the very latest. Tom, what can you tell us? TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jean. It is the last open window for the Taliban. That's here in Islamabad. The only embassy they have remaining. The Saudis and United Arab Emirates have basically ordered all Taliban officials to leave in the previous weeks, so if there is any message to come out, it will come out here.

We knew that, and it did come out this afternoon. The Taliban ambassador here in Islamabad, Pakistan saying that the Taliban indeed knows where Osama bin Laden is and has him under their control, saying they are holding him in a safe place.

Also, he's talking about some type of negotiations, possibly, with the United States. This again the ambassador, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, saying the position of the two countries is very different. "They are thinking of direct attack, we are thinking of negotiation." His words.

"They have provided no evidence, but they want the man, and we say change, and talk to us. If they present evidence we will respect their negotiations and that might change things." But as we've already heard from the White House this morning, negotiations is not on the menu, at least not from the Bush administration, apparently no interest in negotiating with the Taliban.

They say they have presented their case, the evidence is mounting, and the time, they say, is running out. But the Taliban, going from we don't know where he is, to we have him and he's under our control, is a major, major shift in what this story has been for the past week. Jean?

MESERVE: What might explain this reversal, Tom?

MINTIER: I really don't know. Everything we've heard from the Taliban has been really hard line, never even using the word negotiation, saying they would never hand Osama bin Laden over. And then in the middle of the week saying, we don't know where he is. And after the meeting of the clerics in Kabul, where they made the recommendation or the advice passed on to Mullah Omar in Kandahar, that Osama bin Laden leave the country. It was then that the Taliban said we simply don't know where he is to deliver this message.

Then, earlier in this weekend, we heard, well, we have delivered the message to him, but have not heard back. Now we are hearing that Osama bin Laden is indeed under control of the Taliban, being held in a secret location that only the security apparatus of the Taliban knows where he is. Saying he is in a safe place, Jean.

MESERVE: Tommy, any expectation that we'll get any further clarification from the Taliban today?

MINTIER: I doubt it, because it's evening here already, and this small assembly inside the Taliban embassy, that heard that they indeed know his location and have him under their control, I would doubt that we'll hear anything more tonight. I think that the Taliban is probably waiting to see what the White House might have to say in response to what they would probably see as an olive branch, if you will.

That they indeed have gone from not knowing where he is to having him under their control. But beyond that is pour speculation. We don't have any idea what the significance of this statement is, what the motivation is, but it's clear that they're using the word negotiations. That's something we haven't heard from the Taliban embassy in all the time I've been here in Pakistan.

MESERVE: Tom Mintier in Islamabad, thank you for bringing us the latest on this striking development.

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