Bounty hunters chase bin Laden David Leppard Calgary Herald

Sunday, September 30, 2001

British mercenaries have been trying to trace Osama bin Laden so they can claim the multimillion-dollar bounty put on his head by the United States.

A former SAS soldier said last week that he knew of four attempts by former British servicemen to try to pinpoint bin Laden in his Afghanistan base. A second special forces veteran confirmed private operations have been mounted by British and U.S. bounty hunters.

There is plenty of incentive. The reward "for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction" of the terrorist mastermind has been increased to $30 million US.

U.S. President George W. Bush has made it clear he wants bin Laden "dead or alive."

The FBI has already received detailed information on bin Laden's whereabouts "on a number of occasions" from military "privateers," according to a security source.

The source said a bounty hunter would not need to capture or kill the terrorist to claim the reward. Intelligence on his future movements or position would qualify if it led to an official operation that brought him to justice, meaning a lucky intercept by a freelance computer hacker or radio ham could qualify for the reward.

In July 1997, Arabic newspapers, citing "sources close to Bin Laden," reported a huge mercenary force with helicopters and C-130 Hercules transport planes had arrived in Pakistan on a mission to abduct or assassinate bin Laden.

One eyewitness reported seeing 11 black Toyota 4x4s crossing the border into Afghanistan. The paper said local people suspected it was an American-run mission.

Even before bin Laden's rise to infamy, bounty hunters were regular visitors to Afghanistan.

In the early 1980s, William Lindsay-Hogg led a quasi-official team of mercenaries and British special forces as part of a successful effort to arm and train Afghan fighters who were resisting the Russian invasion.

David Tomkins, who took part in the mission, said the men were paid thousands of dollars to steal examples of the Russian AK74, a military assault rifle, from Soviet troops. Tomkins said the unit also grabbed ammunition, filters for gas masks and Russian military papers.

Ironically bin Laden, then a military leader in the region, benefited from this raid as he too was fighting the Russians.

When the Russians pulled out, yet more bounty hunters moved in. They were tempted by a $10 million US reward offered by the administration of George Bush in 1992 for the return of Stinger shoulder-fired missiles that had been supplied by the West to the Afghans during the Russian war. This was largely unsuccessful and the Stingers remain the most potent weapon in the hands of bin Laden and the Taliban.

Anybody considering taking up the FBI's offer should be aware that bin Laden has responded in kind. In 1998, bin Laden issued a bounty of $10,000 US to his followers for every American killed.

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2001