Islamabad - Osama bin Laden had at least 55 bases in Afghanistan earlier this year with over 13,000 men, according to Russian information.
A Russian memo to the United Nations, obtained yesterday, reported that in addition to bin Laden's own men, about 3,500 fundamentalist Pakistanis were in the country. It said that Pakistani soldiers and diplomats were also working as advisers to the Taliban. Pakistani military spokesmen were not available to comment on the list, which named 31 Pakistanis from generals to diplomats.
Pakistan, the only country that still recognises the Taliban, has long been accused of supporting the movement, but it officially denies any involvement.