PARIS, March 15: US-led forces in Afghanistan have nearly captured Osama bin Laden on several occasions, France's armed forces chief of staff said on Monday, adding that the Al Qaeda chief could be involved in the Madrid attacks.

"We were not far off. I think that several times, he escaped from a net that was pretty well closed," General Henri Bentegeat told private French radio station Europe 1. He did not say where the near-misses took place.

France has some 200 special forces working with US troops in southern Afghanistan to catch remnants of the former Taliban regime and Al-Qaeda operatives still in the country.

"The terrain is extremely favorable to those on the run. There are underground networks everywhere," the French general said, adding that the coalition hoped to nab bin Laden before year's end.

"After all, he is the symbol of September 11th and he is certainly not completely innocent with respect to what happened in Madrid," Bentegeat said. But he warned that even should bin Laden be captured, his arrest would not lead to Al-Qaeda's demise, as the terror network is "a hydra with several heads. You can catch one head, but there will be others."

When asked about the deadly Madrid attacks, which left 200 people dead, Bentegeat said the "choice of targets, the choice of means, the complexity of the operation indicate that it was probably Al-Qaeda."-AFP