'The terrorist act is the action of some American group.'

Wednesday September 12 2:27 AM ET

Pakistan Paper Says Bin Laden Denies U.S. Attack

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani newspaper said on Wednesday that Saudi militant Osama bin Laden had denied responsibility for the terror attacks in the United States.

``The terrorist act is the action of some American group. I have nothing to do with it,'' the newspaper Khabrain quoted bin Laden as saying through ``sources close to the Taliban.''

The Urdu-language newspaper has a reputation for sensational reporting and there was no independent confirmation of the claim.

Two hijacked U.S. commercial planes slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Tuesday, causing both 110-story landmarks to collapse and killing thousands. Another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington.

Bin Laden, who commands Islamic fundamentalists willing to die attacking the United States which they see as the ultimate enemy, has been the target of a massive U.S. manhunt since 1998 when bomb attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people and injured 4,000.

Bin Laden is believed to live amid tight security near the Taliban's spiritual capital in the southern Afghan town of Kandahar or in the eastern town of Jalalabad, and the Taliban have rebuffed all attempts from abroad to secure his deportation.

The English-language News described the U.S. attacks as ''Doomsday for U.S.''

The paper said the attacks provided an occasion for the United States and other countries to ponder their foreign policy.

``For the rest of world it is time that a policy review is undertaken on all major flash-points -- the Middle East -- followed by South Asia where Kashmir and Afghanistan...provide justification to militants to adopt violent ways to seek justice,'' the paper said.