MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan – The U.S. military is on the scene of this month’s devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan and Kashmir (search), helping out with relief. It's a region where American soldiers are usually not welcome.
The quake site is one of the places Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden (search) reportedly might have used as a hideout.
All of this is feeding local speculation that bin Laden was killed in the quake and U.S. troops have been searching for his body.
"I have certainly heard those claims," U.S. military spokesman Cmdr. Nick Balice told FOX News, "but I have no knowledge whatsoever on whether that's accurate or not."
The terror kingpin’s presence in the devastated region is a definite long shot, but there are reported links to him there.
Organizations like Jamaat-ud-Dawa (search), said to have ties to a banned militant Islamist group, are pitching in with their own earthquake aid efforts, helping a desperate people — and maybe trying to score some political points in the process.
The group's relief camp includes a medical clinic in the town of Muzaffarabad (search) that's being run by a Pakistani doctor who admitted treating bin Laden and was questioned by U.S. officials about the 9/11 terror attacks.
Click on the video box above to see a full report by FOX News' Greg Palkot.
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