The Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has said that interrogations with captured al-Qaeda operatives have led intelligence officials to conclude that Osama bin Laden is still alive.
And the US commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan has said its intelligence suggests bin Laden and other senior al-Qaeda operatives are more likely to be in Pakistan than Afghanistan.
Mr Musharraf said the killing yesterday of a suspected key al-Qaeda militant in southern Pakistan was a serious blow against terrorism.
Yesterday, Pakistani security forces shot dead Amjad Farooqi, the man described as the country's most wanted terror suspect.
Farooqi, who was wanted in connection with assassination attempts on Mr Musharraf and the murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl, was killed in a four-hour gun battle at a house in the province of Sindh.
A number of other suspects were arrested in the operation.
Pakistan security forces have captured about 600 al-Qaeda suspects since late 2001 and have handed the majority over to US custody.
