US scientists say they've located bin Laden's hideout

Feb 18, 2009, 19:02 GMT

Washington - Geographers at a California university believe they may have succeeded at a task that has eluded the highest levels of US intelligence and espionage agencies: They think they know where Osama bin Laden is hiding.

Using satellite imagery and geographic principles, scientists at the Univeristy of California, Los Angeles, have concluded that bin Laden is most likely hiding in one of three buildings in a small Pakistani town called Parachinar, not far from the Afghan border.

The geographic analysis also included population-detection methods, amount of available electricity, information on where bin Laden has been spotted since going into hiding in 2001 and even the alleged terrorist leader's height.

'If he's still alive, he honestly could be sitting there right now,' said Thomas Gillespie, the lead author of the study released Tuesday and an associate professor at UCLA.

'It is still the safest tribal area and city in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of northwest Pakistan and one of the only tribal areas that the US has not bombed with its unmanned Predators,' he added.

Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA, are remote Pakistani mountainous regions over which the government in Islamabad exercises little control. The region has also been used as refuge for Taliban militants and al-Qaeda operatives fighting US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and is frequently mentioned as a potential location for bin Laden.

The geographers said the three compounds in Parachinar are surrounded by walls and the buildings are spacious enough to accommodate the fugitive's above average height. He would also need electricity for the reported dialysis treatment he requires, the study said.

Gillespie urged US authorities to investigate the buildings soon, warning that if the Taliban gains control of the much larger city of Peshawar, bin Laden could opt to move there, where it would be much more difficult to find him.

'It's the difference between looking for someone in LA versus Big Bear,' Gillespie said, referring to the small mountain resort town east of Los Angeles.