After the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa , bin Laden and several al-Qaeda members were indicted in U.S. criminal court . The Taliban rejected extradition requests by the US , variously claiming that bin Laden had " gone missing " , or that Washington " can not provide any evidence or any proof " that bin Laden is involved in terrorist activities and that " without any evidence , bin Laden is a man without sin ... he is a free man . " Evidence against bin Laden included courtroom testimony and satellite phone records . Bin Laden in turn , praised the Taliban as the " only Islamic government " in existence , and lauded Mullah Omar for his destruction of idols such as the Buddhas of Bamyan
1998 US embassy bombings
1998 United States embassy bombings
Taliban