“An edict from the Taliban’s ruling council of clerics requesting that Osama bin Laden should leave Afghanistan was delivered to the Saudi-born fugitive yesterday [September 26, 2001]. The fatwa, delivered by hand by a messenger, confirmed that America’s prime suspect behind the recent terrorist attacks is still in hiding in Afghanistan, contradicting reports over the past two weeks that Bin Laden had fled the country for a hideout in either China or Chechnya.”
– Rory McCarthy, “Al-Zawahiri has a Long History with Osama bin Laden, Terror,” The Guardian, Sep. 27, 2001