WASHINGTON — U.S. troops trying to ascertain who was killed last week in an attack by a CIA drone on suspected al-Qaida leaders in southeastern Afghanistan have recovered forensic evidence from the site, a military spokesman said Sunday.

"There is a team there made up mostly of the 101st Airborne Division at a site near Zawar Khili and they located some forensic evidence at the site," said Capt. Robert Riggle, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

U.S. officials said missiles fired by the remote controlled aircraft on Monday killed a tall man who appeared to be at the center of a group of al-Qaida members, sparking speculation that he may have been Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden, thought to be between 6 foot 4 inches and 6 foot 6 inches tall, is blamed by the United States for the Sept. 11 attacks on America that killed about 3,100 people.

U.S. network news reports said a team of 50 U.S. soldiers, including forensics experts, had found human remains in the attack area, 20 miles southwest of Khost and 10 miles from the Pakistani border. The reports said the team was gathering DNA material to compare with DNA samples supplied to the United States by bin Laden relatives.

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Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday that bin Laden was still alive (story on A8).

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