Osama bin Laden, if he's alive, celebrates his 50th birthday today, and his Taliban followers prayed for his long life.
The al Qaeda leader's long silence has fuelled speculation that the world's most-wanted fugitive may have died, though many in the international intelligence community reckon Islamist militant websites would circulate word of his death.
"He is alive. I am 100 percent sure," Taliban spokesman Mullah Hayatullah Khan said, adding that senior leaders were in touch with bin Laden, reinforcing a widely held view that he is hiding near the rugged Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Mr Khan said special prayers were offered by Taliban fighters in camps in Afghanistan to mark bin Laden's birth on March 10th, 1957, in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.
"We prayed that Allah may give him 200 years to live," Mr Khan said," by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.
"When we woke up today, we offered collective and long prayers for him because he is a great mujahid [holy warrior]."
The most recent videotape of bin Laden was released in late 2004 - subsequent tapes released were identified as old footage - and around half a dozen audio tapes surfaced in the first half of 2006.