An Afghan opposition party claimed Osama bin Laden is being protected by around 13,000 bodyguards.
A spokesman for the Northern Alliance compared bin Laden's bodyguards to a small army.
The party president's spokesman also claimed bin Laden is still in Afghanistan.
Mr Abed Rajib, spokesman for Burhanuddin Rabbani, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Bin Laden has bodyguards representing a small army - probably some 13,000 men."
The Northern Alliance is fighting the Taliban regime in Kabul.
AP
