ISLAMABAD, Dec. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Osama Ben Laden no more commands the Al-Qaeda group, United States Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker said here on Monday while talking with a group of journalists.

    Pakistan's GEO TV quoted Crocker as saying that Ben Laden was hiding in some far-flung area with no communication with his group members, so he was not leading the group.

    The US ambassador said releasing any video or audio tape in weeks or months duration could not prove that Ben Laden was still operational commander of the outfit.

    Crocker said he was unaware whether Ayman al-Zawahiri or someone else leading the terrorist group but after the capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abu Fraj Al-Libbi and the killing of Hamaza Rabeea, Al-Qaeda was in dire straits.

    Meanwhile, Crocker expressed concern over activities of some outlawed outfits in the quake-hit areas. He said Jamat al-Dawa was the new name of banned outfit of Lashkar-e-Tayba and the Pakistani government should meet the challenge in the quake-hit areas in collaboration with the NGOs instead of allowing these groups to operate in the quake zone. Enditem