US News
The hunt for Osama bin Laden continues, says Rice
By DPA
Sep 10, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed Sunday that the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden would continue, a day ahead of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

It was very difficult to find bin Laden because he was hiding in remote areas and was not in communication with the outside world, Rice told CNN Sunday.

Bin Laden's world however had grown smaller and he had fewer place to hide. The search was not just about bin Laden, but the entire al- Qaeda network, said Rice.

The Washington Post newspaper reported Sunday that a special CIA unit sent to the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan had found no trace of bin Laden in the last two years.

The CIA were now, at the request of US President George W Bush, increasing the number of agents searching for bin Laden in the region.