Washington DC, Dec 9 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The top US commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal said that capturing Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is very crucial as he is a very iconic figure and he ought to be killed or captured in order to win the war against militants.

“It would not defeat al-Qaeda to have him captured or killed, but I don’t think we can finally defeat al-Qaeda until he is finally captured or killed,” General Stanley McChrystal told Congress on Tuesday.

McChrystal told the Congress that the non-capture and subsequent survival of Bin Laden even eight years after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US quiet a proud issue with the Al-Qaeda. They even use this as a recruiting ruse for new recruits in the dreaded militancy organization.

But at the same time, McChrystal also warned that just by killing or capturing Saudi-born bin Laden would not by itself dismantle al-Qaeda since it is quiet a huge organization and just killing one leader would not cause its fall.

McChrystal comments come after a high-profile US report reported earlier this week that former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander General Tommy Franks refused to authorize US servicemen to block bin Laden’s escape. Bin Laden, consequently, escaped from his alleged eastern Afghanistan hideout to neighboring Pakistan, the report continued.