NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Special forces tighten the noose around bin Laden

18 Nov, 2001 12:03 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

LONDON - Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in a 78 sq km area of southeastern Afghanistan.

A Sunday Times report, quoting British defence intelligence sources, said that was where American and British special forces were concentrating their hunt for the man believed to be responsible for the September
11 terrorist attacks.

It said the troops had been lifted by helicopter to the southern approach to the area, near the Taleban stronghold of Kandahar, to prevent bin Laden escaping into nearby Pakistan.

An unnamed British defence intelligence source was quoted as saying bin Laden was "static" somewhere to the southeast of Kandahar.

"For a variety of reasons we can be confident that he has not been able to move far," the source said.

The Taleban Ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said yesterday that bin Laden was no longer in an area of Afghanistan under the Islamic militia's control.

Zaeef said he did not know if bin Laden was still in Afghanistan or had slipped out of the country.

On Saturday, a US official said Mohammed Atef, a chief lieutenant of bin Laden, had been killed by a US bomb, but the Taleban denied it.

Atef was believed killed south of Kabul on Wednesday or Thursday as the United States tightened its net around bin Laden.

Intelligence services had identified Atef as the planner of the September 11 attacks and the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Washington Post has also reported that delays by United States military chiefs in approving bombing missions had undercut efforts to kill leaders of the Taleban and bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The paper said that as many as 10 times over the past six weeks, US Air Force officials believed they had successfully targeted Taleban and al Qaeda leaders but failed to receive clearance to fire.

"We know we had some of the big boys," the Post quoted an unnamed Air Force official as saying. "The process is so slow that by the time we got the clearances, and everybody had put in their two cents, we called it off."

The problems stem from delays brought about by a cumbersome approval process and disagreements between the Air Force and the US military Central Command over how much importance to attach to civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani returned to Kabul five years after the Taleban drove him out and tried to allay fears that his Northern Alliance would cling to power.

"We welcome the formation of a broad-based government as soon as possible," he said.

The United Nations says the alliance is obstructing talks needed to construct such a government.

Alliance leaders also said they did not want foreign troops on Afghan soil.

- REUTERS

Story archives:

  • War against terrorism

  • Bioterrorism

  • Terror in America - the Sept 11 attacks

    Links: War against terrorism

    Timeline: Major events since the Sept 11 attacks
  • Advertisement
    Advertise with NZME.
    Advertisement
    Advertise with NZME.
    Save

      Share this article

    Latest from World

    World

    Mushroom poisoning trial: Court releases photos showing deadly beef wellington

    07 Jul 08:51 AM
    WorldUpdated

    The moment Erin Patterson knew her fate was sealed

    07 Jul 08:17 AM
    Premium
    Business|companies

    Tech Insider: UK tells retailers to use NZ’s Auror crime-fighting software

    07 Jul 07:00 AM

    From early mornings to easy living

    sponsored
    Advertisement
    Advertise with NZME.

    Latest from World

    Mushroom poisoning trial: Court releases photos showing deadly beef wellington

    Mushroom poisoning trial: Court releases photos showing deadly beef wellington

    07 Jul 08:51 AM

    The leftovers were taken from Erin Patterson's bin.

    The moment Erin Patterson knew her fate was sealed

    The moment Erin Patterson knew her fate was sealed

    07 Jul 08:17 AM
    Premium
    Tech Insider: UK tells retailers to use NZ’s Auror crime-fighting software

    Tech Insider: UK tells retailers to use NZ’s Auror crime-fighting software

    07 Jul 07:00 AM
    Jury finds Erin Patterson guilty of murder

    Jury finds Erin Patterson guilty of murder

    Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
    sponsored

    Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

    NZ Herald
    • About NZ Herald
    • Meet the journalists
    • Newsletters
    • Classifieds
    • Help & support
    • Contact us
    • House rules
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Competition terms & conditions
    • Our use of AI
    Subscriber Services
    • NZ Herald e-editions
    • Daily puzzles & quizzes
    • Manage your digital subscription
    • Manage your print subscription
    • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
    • Subscribe to Herald Premium
    • Gift a subscription
    • Subscriber FAQs
    • Subscription terms & conditions
    • Promotions and subscriber benefits
    NZME Network
    • The New Zealand Herald
    • The Northland Age
    • The Northern Advocate
    • Waikato Herald
    • Bay of Plenty Times
    • Rotorua Daily Post
    • Hawke's Bay Today
    • Whanganui Chronicle
    • Viva
    • NZ Listener
    • Newstalk ZB
    • BusinessDesk
    • OneRoof
    • Driven Car Guide
    • iHeart Radio
    • Restaurant Hub
    NZME
    • About NZME
    • NZME careers
    • Advertise with NZME
    • Digital self-service advertising
    • Book your classified ad
    • Photo sales
    • NZME Events
    • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
    TOP