Osama is 'alive and well', says expert

Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden is alive and recruiting fresh support in Britain and Europe, according to an expert on al-Qaida.

Bin Laden was the author of a defiant message posted last week on an al-Qaida website, claims Dr Rohan Gunaratna, a world authority on Islamic terrorism.

The statement in Arabic was posted last Friday on alneda.com in response to criticism levelled at al-Qaida for its role in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, Dr Gunaratna said.

It stated: "We don't care about Western public opinion because it is for the Western people and in any case backs Western governments. Therefore it should not be a matter of concern for us whether western public opinion turns against us or not. We did this operation not for human kind but for Allah."

Dr Gunaratna, who is based at St Andrews University, Fife, said: "From the style of that message and the way in which it's been issued it's very clear that this is from Osama bin Laden himself.

"It's a very serious decision for a terrorist group to admit to its role in an attack and that can only come from the very top. Only Osama bin Laden could authorise that."

Dr Gunaratna said that the message, which featured prominently on the website, had bin Laden's "signature all over it" but did not state that he was its author because "it is important for al-Qaida to maintain ambiguity about whether he is alive or dead".

"If they admit he's alive then the threat to the command structure of the organisation will increase and the coalition will intensify their efforts to find him."

The message also said that al-Qaida had in its possession statements by the other 18 hijackers, Dr Gunaratna said. The website spouts propaganda for al-Qaida and aims to attract funding from potential sympathisers across Europe and Britain, he added.

He said he believed that Western military leaders have privately accepted that the war in Afghanistan, where the Royal Marines are busy combing mountain lairs used by al-Qaida fighters, was "far from over".