LONDON (voa) – A British newspaper says U.S. and British special forces are hunting for Osama bin Laden in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
London’s Daily Telegraph says the soldiers were sent to the region after Indian intelligence last month placed Osama bin Laden in the Himalayan mountains of Kashmir.
According to the newspaper, Indian intelligence believes the al-Qaida network leader is being protected by an Islamic militant group, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
The newspaper’s report has not been independently confirmed. There have been no reported sightings of Osama bin Laden since mid-November in the Tora Bora area of eastern Afghanistan. He was last seen shortly before U.S. and Afghan forces entered Tora Bora, which al-Qaida members had used as a hideout and a training ground.
But the Daily Telegraph quotes an unnamed British defense official as saying Osama bin Laden has a history with Kashmiri militant groups and may have regarded the area as a safe haven from Afghanistan.
The newspaper says the hunt involves a range of high-tech devices, including a spy satellite over the Indian Ocean.
