Montreal, Sept 24: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said here yesterday a French newspaper report that al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden has died was mere speculation but that it would be good news if it turns out to be true.

"It would be a good news, but it's just speculation," Karzai told radio-Canada television during a visit in Montreal. "Let's see if it's true or not true."

L'est Republicain, a French regional newspaper, published today a French intelligence service document stating that Saudi intelligence officials "are now convinced that Osama Bin Laden is dead."

French President Jacques Chirac confirmed that the report was based on a confidential DGSE briefing and said he would order an investigation of the leak.

But he stressed in remarks to journalists that the information on Bin Laden "is in no way confirmed."
Bureau Report