Osama Bin Laden secretly left Afghanistan and arrived in Iran, where he was provided shelter by an ethnic group, which is opposing the Iranian Government, reported the Pakistani Jang daily on December 16.
According to the newspaper, highly credible diplomatic sources conveyed late Saturday that Bin Laden, after leaving Tora Bora via a comparatively long and non-traditional route, entered Iran, where he was taken to an unknown location.
The Saudi dissident left his mountainous hideout while local tribal commanders were holding talks with al-Qaeda members last week.
The Rawalpindi-based newspaper adds that its sources said that those detained Taliban, who were captured by the tribal forces, conveyed the information about Bin Ladin’s escape and arrival in Iran.
According to these Taliban prisoners, bin Laden’s supporters told him that he could not cross the Pakistani border due to the strict security arrangements there. (Albawaba.com)
