Laden evades capture by Pak troops

Data from a mobile phone used by one of bin Laden's closest aides helped the Pakistani troops to pinpoint his hideout but by the time they could mount a raid, the al-Qaeda chief had slipped away, 'News of the World' tabloid reported.

"It was in the spring. We acted on intelligence reports and were close. Such fleeting opportunities come and either you succeed in a moment or you fail and miss the opportunity for a long time," it quoted Musharraf as saying in Islamabad.