Bin Laden 'Che Guevara of al-Qaida'

Osama bin Laden is no longer personally planning attacks, but remains significant as a “Che Guevara of al-Qaida” who helps hold together the terror network, Germany’s intelligence chief said in an interview.

Bin Laden is still believed to be hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan border, Ernst Uhrlau, the head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said in an interview with the Bild.

“As a creative director and icon, he is still something like the Che Guevara of al-Qaida,” Mr Uhrlau said.

He said bin Laden was no longer personally planning attacks, but added: “for the internal cohesion of the terror network, it is enough for very different groups to be able to invoke him.”

Mr Uhrlau said bin Laden was still believed to be in the Afghan-Pakistani border region, and added: “He apparently is with friendly tribes for whom a basic rule is irrevocable: one does not send a guest to his doom.”

Asked whether al-Qaida might have had a role in last week’s deadly bombings in Istanbul, Mr Uhrlau said it could not be ruled out.

Turkey’s political leaders had quickly blamed the blasts, which killed 17, on the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The group has denied responsibility.

The attacks “fit the PKK only with difficulty,” Mr Uhrlau said.

“The technique of the attack, as well as the place and time, point rather to an Islamist or domestic Turkish background,” he said.