Russians claim to have interviewed Mullah Omar

The vanished Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar says that Osama bin Laden is alive inside Afghanistan and has threatened further terror attacks on the US, according to a Russian weekly newspaper.

Argumenty I Fakty claims to have conducted an email interview with the cleric. In its latest edition it said that it had only just received answers from Mullah Omar after forwarding questions via former Taliban officials and Arab intermediaries in the spring. Negotiations for the interview began last August.

Asked about the fate of Bin Laden, Mullah Omar report edly said: "He's alive and in Afghanistan. Osama helped us during the war with the Russians and he won't leave us now."

The newspaper provided no information on Mullah Omar's whereabouts nor did it indicate whether it had verified that the replies were indeed from him. He is not known to have given an interview before to any media from non-Islamic countries.

"We have suffered minimal casualties and are still combat ready despite the American propaganda that we have been destroyed," he is quoted as saying. "I don't think the Taliban have been defeated _ The holy war has just begun."