Military says ABC report based on old info

Fri Jun 23, 5:13 PM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. military on Friday declined to discuss specifics of a media report that it knew the locations of senior al-Qaida leaders' hideouts in Pakistan, but said the story was based on old information.

The ABC News report also said U.S. intelligence reports indicated the Afghan president's brother had ties to drug traffickers, a charge the brother denied.

ABC said Thursday it obtained a computer flash drive stolen from the U.S. base at Bagram and sold at a nearby bazaar. Such thefts of sensitive equipment were first reported in April.

ABC said the drive contained files indicating U.S. forces knew the hiding places in Pakistan of al-Qaida targets such as deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri. It said there was no mention of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.

A U.S. spokesman, Col. Tom Collins, wouldn't address the authenticity of the report Friday, saying he could not discuss classified military information.

But the U.S. military issued a statement saying the information on the computer drive was at least 18 months old.

"This information was compiled during a time and environment that is significantly different from today and by personnel who have long since moved on," the statement said.

The statement praised Pakistan's security cooperation, saying: "It's important to remember that no one has killed or captured more senior al-Qaida terrorists than Pakistan."

ABC said a document on the flash drive also alleged that the younger brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai received bribes from drug lords.

The president's spokesman, Karim Rahimi, denied it. "If there is no evidence, they should not make allegations or accusations," he said.

The brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, called the report baseless, saying his "family morals" prevent him from dealing in drugs.

"They want to give my brother a bad name," said Wali Karzai, who heads Kandahar's provincial council. "I hate this business of drugs. I never do that."

Afghanistan supplies nearly 90 percent of the world's opium and heroin.

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Associated Press writer Paul Garwood in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

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