THE New England Patriots romped to victory again on Sunday, downing the Cleveland Browns 34-17 to easily remain among the NFL’s unbeaten teams.

Maybe he is dead, either from US bombing, gunfire from his own men or even, as one newspaper reported, from cancer. Maybe he is holed up deep in a mountain cave or hiding in a fortified Pakistan border village. Or perhaps he is in Chechnya, Somalia or back home in Saudi Arabia.

The US says its coalition has captured around 7,000 Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.