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U.S. official: Bin Laden's capture not 'a prime mission'

SUMMARY:

Top U.S. defense officials reiterate they still aren't sure where Osama bin Laden is, or whether he's dead or alive. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said evidence indicates bin Laden is probably in Afghanistan.

As the search for bin Laden continues, Afghanistan's interim leader is thanking Iran's president for his country's role in helping Afghanistan topple the Taliban. Hamid Karzai, who arrived Sunday in Iran, said he hopes Iran will help with Afghanistan's reconstruction.

In Afghanistan, two explosions heard Friday night near the U.S. base at the Kandahar International Airport were apparently the result of rockets fired toward the base from a crude nearby launch site, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The Bush administration asked Pakistani authorities to arrest Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the lead suspect in Daniel Pearl's abduction and killing, in early January, two weeks before the Wall Street Journal reporter was kidnapped.

Summary Update Key questions Who's who  CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

UPDATE:

U.S. officials do not know where bin Laden is, but capturing the al Qaeda leader isn't a prime mission of the Bush administration, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday. Gen. Richard Myers told ABC's "This Week," "Bin Laden is part of that leadership, so we'd like to get him, and we will get him. ... I wouldn't call it a prime mission though." (Full story)

Rockets launched about 1.5 miles from the Kandahar airport in Afghanistan landed less than a mile from the U.S. base but caused no damage. A subsequent search of the suspected launch site Saturday afternoon turned up five rocket heads pointing toward the airport as well as fuses and detonation cord. Suspects in the explosions evaded capture.

Karzai met Sunday with Iranian reformist President Mohammed Khatami in his first visit to Iran since becoming Afghan interim leader in December. (Full story)

The U.S. request for Sheikh was made after the Justice Department, in a sealed indictment, charged him in connection with the 1994 kidnapping of four Western tourists, including an American, in India, government officials said. (Full story)

Dozens of al Qaeda terrorists in "sleeper" cells and members of other terrorist groups pose a threat within the United States, according to U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. (Full story)

KEY QUESTION:

Where is bin Laden?

Will Daniel Pearl's killers be brought to justice?

WHO'S WHO:

Daniel Pearl: Wall Street Journal reporter, 38, kidnapped and slain in Pakistan.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh: Islamic militant now jailed in Pakistan as the suspected ringleader in Pearl's kidnapping.

Gen. Richard Myers: Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff

Osama bin Laden: A wealthy Saudi expatriate living in Afghanistan whom U.S. authorities cite as the prime mastermind behind terror attacks.