KABUL, Aug 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. Central Command chief Tommy Franks, the supreme commander of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said Sunday, August 25, 2002, that if Osama bin Laden was still alive, his capture or death was "only a matter of time."

"We have not seen convincing proof that bin Laden ... is dead and so I think that what we do is to continue to confirm or deny intelligence reports that we get," Franks told U.S. servicemen at the Bagram air base north of Kabul, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Now am I going to say where I think he is now, no I'm not because I wouldn't want to give anybody any sort of alert.

"I actually don't know whether he is alive or dead, but I do know that a great many nations on this planet are very interested in the man.

"If he is alive, and I'll leave you by saying if he is still alive, it’s only a matter of time [before he is captured or killed]," Franks said.

Franks earlier warned the work of coalition and international security forces was far from over in Afghanistan although stability was slowly returning to the war-torn country.

He also held talks with Major General Akin Zorlu, the Turkish commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and President Hamid Karzai before heading to Bagram air base, the headquarters of the coalition campaign.

"There's a lot of work left to do. Your brothers are out on the ground right now doing it. I'm proud of them, I'm proud of you," Franks said in an address to U.S. troops at Bagram.

Franks emphasized the successes of the campaign in Afghanistan to date, hailing the downfall of the Taliban.

The U.S. General earlier told reporters at ISAF's headquarters in Kabul that the multinational force was playing a vital role in bringing stability to the Afghan capital, where troops have been deployed since December.

"It fills me with pride to have the chance to spend some time with the troops who are doing this work in Kabul, to spend some with the General [Zorlu] to congratulate him on a job well done," Franks said.

"As we stand side-by-side [we] recognize that whether it is Operation Enduring Freedom or whether it is the International Security Assistance Force, much remains to be done in the future. I believe all of us know that.

"The sense of stability, while not having arrived yet in Afghanistan, is moving in the right direction."

Commenting on reports of atrocities committed by U.S. allies in Afghanistan, and whether they are true or not, Franks backed the dispatch of a government delegation. It is understood that the delegation has traveled to northern Afghanistan to look into reports of a mass grave allegedly containing the bodies of Taliban prisoners.

Newsweek magazine reported that as many as 1,000 prisoners may have suffocated as they were being driven in container trucks by followers of U.S.-backed warlord Abdul Rashid Dostam after surrendering late last year.

An initial investigation by the United Nations confirmed the existence of a mass grave and exhumed the bodies of three men, who it concluded had died of suffocation, reported BBC’s online news service.

"I do not know whether they [the reports] will turn out to be true or not. There have been a lot of stories," said Franks.

"The right thing to do is for people to take a look."