Islamabad, Pakistan — FBI Director Robert Mueller voiced concern Thursday that fighters from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network may have slipped out of Afghanistan through Iran.
Mueller also said that U.S. officials still do not know the whereabouts of bin Laden.
"I'm not certain that anybody knows for sure either where Osama bin Laden is, or actually whether he is still alive," Mueller said. He is on an anti-terrorism tour that includes stops in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Citing unconfirmed reports the FBI has received, Mueller said it is possible that al-Qaida fighters managed to sneak out of Afghanistan and flee into Iran. He said he has not discussed this with Iranian authorities, but is certain that others in the U.S. government have.
On Thursday, Mueller met with law-enforcement agents in Pakistan to exchange information and build relationships that might be helpful in the future. He said the government of President Pervez Musharraf had taken extraordinary steps to detain al-Qaida members as they tried to escape into Pakistan.
Mueller also said he believed planned terrorist attacks had been prevented with information gleaned through interrogating captured al-Qaida fighters and through documents found in the caves of Tora Bora and in houses the terrorist organization had used in Kabul.
As Mueller met with Pakistani officials Thursday, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Islamabad, attending a conference and meeting with top government officials.
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