Osama bin Laden Profile: International terrorist/Islamic Extremist Age: 44 Born: Saudi Arabia Current location: Exiled in Afghanistan Activities: Bin Laden is believed to have masterminded and financed several of the past decade's most barbaric acts of terrorism. The United States government believes that he and his worldwide terrorist network played a central role in the Sept. 11, 2001 multiple plane hijackings and coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Saudi exile has been directly linked to the Aug. 7, 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people, and the October 2000 bombing attack of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen. Beliefs and Goals: In 1998, bin Laden issued a religious edict to his followers, "to kill the Americans and their allies, civilians and the military." Bin Laden has made no secret of his anti-American, anti-Western and anti-Israel sentiments. Status: Living in exile under the protection of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, he is currently on the State Department's ten-most-wanted list.