The US military said it is "sure" it will catch Osama bin Laden this year, perhaps within months, but Pakistan said it would not allow American troops to cross the border in search of the al-Qaeda leader.
The comments on Thursday came on one of the deadliest days for American forces in Afghanistan: Seven soldiers were killed when a weapons cache exploded southwest of the capital. Three other American soldiers were wounded and another was missing after the blast, the US Central Command said.
US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Hilferty's prediction about capturing bin Laden comes as the US Army readied a spring offensive against Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts. A US official hinted on Wednesday that the offensive might extend into Pakistan.
Bin Laden, chief suspect in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that sparked the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, is believed to be holed up somewhere along the mountainous border.
Pakistani Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, a senior security official coordinating counterterrorism efforts with US officials, said Pakistani policies do not allow American troops to operate in the country.
The US commander in the region, General John Abizaid, said on Thursday American forces will continue conducting "limited military operations" along the Afghan border, but he has no plans to put US troops inside Pakistan against Pakistani wishes.
Since last month's capture of Saddam Hussein, American commanders in Afghanistan have expressed new optimism about finding bin Laden. Hilferty said the military -- the US has 11,000 men in the country -- now believes it could seize him within months.
"We have a variety of intelligence and we're sure we're going to catch Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar this year," Hilferty said. "We've learned lessons from Iraq and we're getting improved intelligence from the Afghan people."
Hilferty declined to comment on where he believed bin Laden or Mullah Omar, the former Taliban leader, might be hiding.
Earlier this week, the American commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General David Barno, told the BBC that he expects bin Laden to be brought to justice by year's end.
American forces are pinning hopes for better intelligence from Afghans on new security teams setting up in provincial capitals across a swath of southern and eastern Afghanistan.
The security teams are supposed to open the way for millions of dollars in US development aid and allow the Afghan government to regain control over lawless areas largely populated by ethnic Pashtuns, from which the Taliban drew their main support.
This month alone, about 70 people have died violently, including two international peacekeepers killed by suicide bombers in Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks.
Pakistani officials said on Thursday they would not allow American forces to use their territory for any new offensive.
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