London: Al-Qaeda leader and world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden reportedly evaded capture by Pakistani troops by a whisker.
The troops missed the dreaded terrorist by 30 minutes as they zeroed-in on him in a remote village close to the Afghan border, a media report claimed on Sunday.
Data from a mobile phone used by one of bin Laden's closest aides helped the Pakistani troops identify his hideout.
But, by the time they planned a raid, the al-Qaeda chief slipped away, News of the World reported.
The details of the operation, conducted earlier this year, were revealed to American TV interviewer Daphne Barak by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
"It was in the spring. We acted on intelligence reports and were close. Such fleeting opportunities come and either you succeed in a moment or you fail and miss the opportunity for a long time," the report quoted Musharraf as saying in Islamabad.
The Pakistani embassy in London confirmed the statement this week.
"We think we missed him (bin Laden) by 30 minutes. It was the closest we have been since 2001," the embassy statement said.
Bin Laden has not been seen in videos, issued by his terror network, for over a year and American intelligence believes he is dead.
But Musharraf disagrees. According to News of the World, he said, "It?s important we finish terrorism and to do that bin Laden must be hunted down."
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