Osama seen in Iran: British daily

Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri were spotted in Iran's Najamabad city two months ago, The News reported on Sunday while quoting a British daily.

The daily attributed the story to a source having links with the Revolutionary Guards. The report said: "A man with links to Iran's intelligence services and hard-line Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC) has told the daily that he saw the al-Qaeda leader in Iran two months ago.

He saw him arrive at an RGC guesthouse close to the small town of Najmabad on 23 October." The Al-Qaeda leader, accompanied by al-Zawahiri, was being driven by RGC officers before they arrived at the guest house, a 90 minute drive from Tehran, it was further reported.

The witness said both had subtly changed their appearances, with trimmed beards and hair cut short. Neither was wearing their traditional turbans, he said, and both were dressed in Pakistani-style clothes and carrying long shawls across their shoulders. Meanwhile, senior Iranian security officials have strenuously denied the claims.

Tehran, December 28, 2003 (ANI)