March 8, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 4, 1424

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QUETTA, March 7: The allied forces have arrested two injured sons of Osama bin Laden during a major combing operation on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Balochistan Home Minister, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, said, quoting reports reaching here from across the border.

“I heard rumours about the arrest of Osama’s two sons,” he said in an interview on Friday. He added that according to reports, eight people were killed in an encounter while over half a dozen people were arrested.

The White House said Friday it had “no information” to substantiate reports from Pakistan that two sons of Osama bin Laden were captured in Afghanistan, AFP reports from Washington.

“We have no information to substantiate that report,” spokesman Ari Fleischer said at his formal daily briefing.

Our Quetta correspondent resumes: He denied that the operation was conducted in Pakistani area. Though the Frontier Corps personnel were deployed along the border with Afghanistan, they were not taking part in any operation, he said.

“Pakistani forces stand alert on the border as we have sealed it to stop Al Qaeda men from sneaking through,” he said.

Karim Brahvi, the governor of an Afghan province, Nimroz, denied launching of any operation in the area. “No such operation was conducted by the US forces in Rabat area,” he told a reporter, who reached him by telephone.

However, some other sources said a major operation was launched in and around Rabat, a no-man’s land forming a triangle between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. The area is inaccessible, inhospitable and known for being a major conduit for smugglers.

HUNT ON: The American commandos have launched a hunt for Osama bin Laden in Kunar province of Afghanistan bordering Chitral, Zahiruddin adds from Chitral.

Sources from across the border confirmed the mobilization of US forces, with tanks, armoured personnel carriers, helicopters and jet aircraft aiding them.

House-to-house search is being conducted to catch the most wanted person on earth in Barikot, Shingal and Asmar areas.

Speculation is also rife about the presence of Gulbadin Hekmatyar and his two commanders, Mulla Rustam and Mulla Sadiq, in the Afghan province.

The Arandu border stands sealed for cross-border movement.