Al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden is alive and still orchestrating his terrorist network, Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief told CNN Sunday.
"I believe he's alive. I believe he is in Afghanistan ... near the border with Pakistan," said Prince Turki al-Faisal, adding that he believed Osama bin Laden was in touch with al-Qaeda operatives through "satellite phones" and "couriers."
Furthermore, Prince Turki said that Osama bin Laden's old ally, Mullah Omar - the former head of the Taliban - was also probably still alive and residing in Afghanistan.
"I don't know if he's operating, but he's still alive," said Prince Turki, who headed the Saudi Arabian intelligence agency for over two decades.
Prince Turki admitted to meeting Osama bin Laden "four or five times" in the 1980s when Saudi Arabia and the United States were supporting the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, which was fighting Soviet-backed factions at that time.
"I think when he started, he started off on a good footing, because he wanted to help the Mujahedeen. Everybody wanted to help the Afghan Mujahedeen at that time," he told the Cable News network. "At that time he was quite an amenable fellow," he added. (Albawaba.com)
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