Blair predicts Bin Laden death

Blair: "We will get him in the end"

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has hinted that he expects Osama Bin Laden to be killed during military action in Afghanistan.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he said bringing Bin Laden in front of an international court was "a bit of an academic question".

He spoke as two charities asked the US and its allies to stop using cluster bombs in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden: "Well armed and well protected"

Mr Blair told the paper: "He is well-protected and well armed. And I have always thought it unlikely that he will be turning up in court one day. But we will wait and see."

Mr Blair made it clear he was not endorsing a policy of state assassination of Bin Laden, the chief suspect behind the 11 September terrorist attacks in the US.

But the paper said he left little doubt that Bin Laden's death during a bombing raid or assault by ground troops was the most realistic outcome of the war.

US President George Bush said last month that he wanted Bin Laden "dead or alive".

And it is understood that US and British forces on the ground in Afghanistan have been told not to risk their lives trying to capture him.

Diana fund plea

Mr Blair also said he had appointed a personal envoy to Afghanistan to build links with the anti-Taleban Northern Alliance, in preparation for a post-war government.

He said Paul Bergne, 64, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, had left for Afghanistan and was probably already in the country.

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Landmine Action made their cluster bomb plea in a letter to The Times.

Cluster bombs contain up to 200 three-pound (1.5 kg) "bomblets" which are designed to throw out shrapnel and ignite the surrounding area.

Princess Diana campaigned against landmines

Memorial fund director Andrew Purkis and Landmine Action director Richard Lloyd said the weapons often remained unexploded on the ground, creating a long-term threat to civilians.

They said there was evidence from Kosovo and Iraq that "significant numbers" of cluster bombs also miss their target.

On Wednesday, the United Nations (UN) said unexploded bombs from a US raid - believed to be cluster bombs - had trapped villagers in the western village of Shaker Kala, leaving them afraid to venture from their homes.

The directors wrote: "There must be an urgent rethink of this action".

They also asked the military alliance to take responsibility after the action for the complete clearance of all unexploded bomblets.

If left on the ground, the devices "will increase the number of casualties caused by the severe landmine problem in Afghanistan for years to come, and will deny people facing starvation the use of their land".