General David Petraeus said on Sunday that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is “far buried” in the remote mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan but capturing the “iconic figure” remains a key task.

“I don’t think someone knows where Osama bin Laden is,” the head of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan said.

“The fact that it took him four weeks to get a congratulatory message out or a message of condolence… indicates literally how far buried he is probably in the very, very most remote and mountainous region.”

Despite the difficulty in locating him, Petraeus said Bin Laden “remains an iconic figure and I think capturing or killing (him) is still a very, very important task for all of those who are engaged in counter-terrorism around the world.”