Cave lair under siege

Sam Kiley12 April 2012

Anti-Taliban forces today began to lay siege to Osama bin Laden's Tora Bora underground complex backed by US special forces who have moved into border areas near the caves to prevent him escaping to Pakistan.

The move comes after a night when US warplanes bombed Tora Bora in the White Mountains and what was reported to have been one of Taliban chief Mullah Omar's homes in Kandahar.

Hazrat Ali, Jalalabad's security chief, said that he had more than 1,000 men who were beginning to close on Tora Bora. Ali also said that two local elders had approached him, allegedly with a message from Bin Laden.

"They gave a message to our elders from Osama bin Laden (which said) 'I don't want to fight the (Muslim forces), but if I find some foreign troops, I must fight them'," said Ali.

The claims of the elders were treated with suspicion by Ali; his Pashtun fighters have said they are happy to fight Bin Laden's foreign troops in al Qaeda, but they cannot be relied upon to fight fellow Pashtun in the Taliban.

Ali said he had sent a delegation of elders from Jalalabad to negotiate the surrender of non-Afghan fighters.

Eastern Shura, which is in loose coalition with the Northern Alliance, said that up to 1,500 men are ready to enter the White Mountains to drive out the non-Afghans who have been fighting with al Qaeda and the Taliban.

"That is our aim, to fight the terrorists in that area. It is the last and strongest al Qaeda base left in our country," Ali said. He said the assault could begin in the next few days.

US special forces have been landing at Jalalabad's dust air strip for the past three days. At least 20 forward observers have gone into the surrounding countryside to direct air strikes.

The anti-Taliban leaders have said they believe Bin Laden is either at Tora Bora or another cave complex known as Mawal, 45 miles south-west of Jalalabad. He can be easily re-supplied from the lawless Northern West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

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