The CIA believes Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan, and has deployed intelligence agents to the country to aide the Pakistani military in the search, the spy agency's director said today.
CIA director Leon Panetta said finding the reclusive al-Qaida leader remains a top priority for the department, nearly eight years after then President George Bush pledged to bring him in "dead or alive" for his role in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Panetta told reporters that as the Pakistani military closes in on Taliban militants, the spy agency will have a better chance of locating Bin Laden. He said the agency has "a number of people" operating in Pakistan.
