KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement said on Wednesday any U.S. strikes against the country in retaliation for Tuesday's terror attacks would succeed only in sowing hatred in the region. (Read photo caption below)
Taliban spokesman Abdul Hai Mutmaen told Reuters from the southern Afghan town of Kandahar that U.S. strikes could lead to further Kamikazi attacks.
``If innocent and sinless people suffer, then it is certain that on the level of the region, hatred will further increase, the result of which will be similar to the recent attacks in the United States,'' he said.
Mutmaen repeated the Taliban position that the attacks, which saw two hijacked commercial jets plough into New York's World Trade Centre and another into the Pentagon, were a humanitarian tragedy and that Saudi terror suspect Osama bin Laden was not involved.
``Once again we want to say that the present incident in America is a humanitarian tragedy and we are sad about it. We condemn it strongly and oppose terrorism,'' he said.
Concerned over a repeat of U.S. reprisals on Afghanistan that followed deadly 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa, the Taliban issued hasty denials that bin Laden, who they describe as their guest, was capable of mounting such a vast coordinated conspiracy.
Mutmaen called for patience as the investigation sought to catch those behind the deadly attacks and said -- as had been the case for around two years -- that bin Laden had no outside communication links.
``The ban which we had imposed on him is in place, he doesn't have access to fax, to phone, or any other means of communication,'' Mutmaen said.
He added the United States should be patient in its investigation and not jump to conclusions.
``In America, the circumstances of such an incident... should not be attributed with covered eyes and with illogical reasoning to somebody and neither its revenge be taken on an innocent nation,'' Mutmaen said.
The Taliban said earlier on Wednesday that it was premature to talk about extraditing bin Laden.
``It is premature,'' Taliban ambassador to neighboring Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef said. ``If any evidence is presented to us, we will study it.''
Mutmaen added that the Taliban and bin Laden should not be blamed for the terror attacks, but if there was a U.S. strike against Afghanistan it would fail as there were no worthy industrial targets in the poverty-stricken country.
A newspaper in Pakistan said it had received a message from Osama bin Laden that he was not involved.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil (L) consults his aides before a press conference in Kabul on September 11, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement said on September 12 that any U.S. strikes against the country in retaliation for the terrorist attacks in the United States would not succeed and would only sow hatred in the region. (Zahid Hussein/Reuters)