Afghan Taliban say insufficient evidence Osama is dead

KABUL: The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday they had not seen sufficient evidence yet to convince them that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, their first comment since US officials said the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was killed in Pakistan.

"As the Americans did not provide any acceptable evidence to back up their claim, and as the other aides close to Osama bin Laden have not confirmed or denied the death ... therefore the Islamic Emirate consider any assertion premature," said a statement emailed to media by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

A US official told Reuters in Washington on Tuesday that the United States might release photos of the burial at sea.

But the Taliban had remained quiet until Tuesday, despite a relatively sophisticated media network they had developed over the past few years.