Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden is both one of the CIA's most wanted men and a hero to many young people in the Arab world.
He and his associates were already being sought by the
In May this year a US jury convicted four men believed to be linked
with bin Laden of plotting the embassy bombings in
Bin Laden, an immensely wealthy and private man, has been granted a
safe haven by
During his time in hiding, he has called for a holy war against the
He is also suspected of helping to set up Islamic training centres to
prepare soldiers to fight in
Sponsored by US and
His power is founded on a personal fortune earned by his family's
construction business in
Born in
The Afghan jihad was backed with American dollars and had the blessing
of the governments of
He received security training from the CIA itself, according to Middle Eastern analyst Hazhir Teimourian.
While in
Egyptians, Lebanese, Turks and others - numbering thousands in bin Laden's estimate - joined their Afghan Muslim brothers in the struggle against an ideology that spurned religion.
Turned against the
After the Soviet withdrawal, the 'Arab Afghans', as bin
Laden's faction came to be called, turned their fire against the
Bin Laden returned to
He spent the next five years in
Terrorism experts say bin Laden has been using his millions to fund
attacks against the
The US State Department calls him 'one of the most significant sponsors of Islamic extremist activities in the world today'.
According to the US, bin Laden was involved in at least three major attacks - the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1996 killing of 19 US soldiers in Saudi Arabia, and the 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Islamic front
BBC correspondent James Robbins says bin Laden had 'all but
admitted involvement' in the
Some experts say he is part of an international Islamic front, bringing together Saudi, Egyptian and other groups.
Their rallying cry is the liberation of Islam's three holiest places -
Analysts say bin Laden's organisation is very different from the groups that carried out bombings and hijackings in the past in that it is not a tightly knit group with a clear command structure but a loose coalition of groups operating across continents.
American officials believe bin Laden's associates may operate in over
forty countries - in Europe and North America, as well as in the Middle East
and
The few outsiders who have met bin Laden describe him as modest, almost shy. He rarely gives interviews.
He is believed to be in his 40s, and to have at least three wives.
