Al-Qaida families questioned

THE US is rounding up and questioning the relatives of fugitive al-Qaida leaders to generate information on the possible whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and his top deputies. This tactic helped lead to Saddam Hussein’s capture.

On Saturday, Pentagon and Pakistani officials denied an Iranian State radio report that bin Laden had been captured “a long time ago” in Pakistan’s border region with Afghanistan.

But some US officials say they have been able to extract useful information from Afghan and Pakistani relatives and friends of al-Qaida fugitives, providing hints on the possible whereabouts of the organisation’s leaders.