WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden was alive in late December, which means he survived a United States assault on the Tora Bora caves in Afghanistan, reports Time magazine.
It says evidence that the al Qaeda leader was alive came in the form of a letter from him to his operations chief, Abu Zubaydah.
The letter was among papers that Zubaydah, who is now in US custody, was carrying when he was arrested in Pakistan in March.
The hand-written note urges Zubaydah to continue fighting the US even if something happens to bin Laden, says the magazine, citing a source who had seen a French intelligence analysis of it.
The letter indicated that bin Laden survived the US assault on his Tora Bora cave complex aimed at arresting or killing him. The caves were captured on December 6.
Other papers seized in Zubaydah's hideaway in Faisalabad, Pakistan, included plans for attacks on tankers and cruise ships, Time reports, citing Roland Jacquard, a terrorism expert close to the French President's office.
There was also evidence in the papers that bin Laden's son Saad was in Faisalabad.
Time also reports that doctors who have studied photos of bin Laden say he probably suffers from secondary osteoporosis, which is often related to diabetes and kidney trouble.
Secondary osteoporosis can produce severe back pain and brittle bones that break easily.
In Karachi, the Pakistan Government has appealed to its people for information that could help in the hunt for bin Laden and 17 associates, calling them "mischief-makers" as defined by the Koran.
The appeal was made in an advertisement placed by the Interior Ministry in the mass-circulation Urdu-language daily Jang. It offers confidentiality for informants, but no reward.
The advertisement was placed days after the first Pakistani military casualties in a clash with suspected al Qaeda militants in a remote tribal area of Pakistan near the Afghan border.
Pakistan has previously denied speculation that bin Laden could have taken shelter in Pakistan after his suspected Afghan hideouts were heavily bombed.
- REUTERS
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Bin Laden survived attacks on his caves, letter suggests
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