The search for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has narrowed to a few Pakistani provinces in the northwest, including Waziristan, US and Pakistani officials were quoted as saying on Thursday.

Reports that the search has narrowed to the southwestern province of Baluchistan are wrong, they said.

An official also termed as 'incorrect' a report that bin Laden had used a telephone in Baluchistan to call a family member.

Intelligence agencies are following up on numerous leads from the materials seized from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a top Al Qaeda operative held in Rawalpindi last week.

Unlike Sheikh Mohammed, bin Laden is likely to be in a more remote area, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told CNN on Thursday.

He said, "He wouldn't be hiding alone, or with another colleague of his in one room of a house

"He would need a sanctuary, he would need a bigger area. He wouldn't be moving in a city."

The War on Terror: The Complete Coverage