Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden 'still alive'

An organisation based in Egypt has issued a statement saying that Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden and former Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, the two most wanted men in the US, are still alive.

The Centre for Studies and Historical Research, which is known for its reliable information on bin Laden’s al-Qaida network, said the two men have extended their condolences to the family of an Hamza Badni, anAfghan cleric who died earlier this month.

The undated statement was distributed on the Internet a few days ago. It said: "Mullah Mohammed Omar, his deputy Mohammed Hassan and the other [Taliban] leaders, plus Sheikh Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, pay their condolences to the relatives of the Sheikh and the Pakistani and Afghan people who have lost such rare men in this time."