US-built labyrinth now target of bin Laden hunt

29 Nov, 2001 02:19 AM4 mins to read

12:00 pm - By RICHARD LLOYD PARRY

JALALABAD, Afghanistan - American officials have secretly met Mujahedin leaders in Jalalabad to co-ordinate an attack against Osama bin Laden's suspected hide-out in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, according to a senior commander.

Commander Haji Zaman Ghamsharik, chief of defence for the ruling council of Nangarhar province said he is 90 per cent sure that bin Laden is in the Tora Bora area of the White Mountains, 56 km south of Jalalabad.

He confirmed that he had recently met with "American representatives", and that he is sharing intelligence with them on the whereabouts of the al Qaeda leader and up to 2,000 guerrillas who are believed to be held up in a heavily defended Tora Bora cave complex.

The caves extend 320m into a mountainside in a narrow valley concealed by forest. From the air, they are invisible, and the narrow passes are easily defended against land attack.

Built with US aid during the Soviet occupation, the complex sits atop a 3962-metre mountain.

It is three hours by foot from the nearest road and can reportedly house about 1,000 people.

Bin Laden's presence in the White Mountains has been rumoured ever since the Taleban withdrew from Jalalabad a fortnight ago but the job of tracking him down appears to have gathered momentum in the last few days.

This week the Pentagon confirmed for the first time that it is focusing its hunt for bin Laden and the Taleban leadership on Tora Bora, as well as on the southern city of Kandahar.

"These are the places that we have been led to pay very close attention to," General Tommy R Franks, commander of US military operations in Afghanistan, said on Tuesday.

"Of course I have provided them with these reports," Commander Zaman told the Independent in Jalalabad last night.

"I tell you that up until noon today I was 70 per cent sure of his existence there, but by this evening I am 90 per cent sure. The remaining 10 per cent will be confirmed when I speak with one of my men who has gone there to see with his own eyes."

Commander Zaman confirmed that he has met face to face with the Americans but refused to disclose when the meetings took place and with whom.

"I can only tell you that the subject is the elimination of the al Qaeda organisations and Osama bin Laden, and the only decision we have made is that we will eliminate them."

Last night he met with tribal leaders from the Salyman Khail district which includes Tora Bora complex, a remote network of caves with their own electricity and ventilation which are virtually impervious to conventional attack.

Elders of three tribal groups have been instructed to travel to the area to try to negotiate the surrender of the so called "Arabs", foreign disciples of bin Laden who include Pakistanis, Saudis and Chechens.

The elders, from the Shinwari Khogiani and Mohmandi tribes will travel by road and then on foot to the fringes of the area controlled by the Arabs, who withdrew from Jalalabad after the peaceful retreat of the Taleban on 14 September.

They will be accompanied by armed Mujahedin of Commander Zaman, but the negotiations are no more than a formality, and nobody in Jalalabad expects the Arabs to accept any compromise.

"This is the custom of the Pashtun people," Commander Zaman said.

"It would be easier for us if we could solve the problem by consultation, but if they don't accept that we will have to mount a military attack. That is something I'm still working on."

Mujahedin commanders estimate that at least 4,000 well trained men will be needed to launch an assault.

A week ago locals reported seeing a foreign man in Khaki fatigue in an office used by an Afghan drugs control organisation but the reports remain unconfirmed and although the presence of American military representatives in Jalalabad has been rumoured for some time, they have remained invisible to the general population.

- INDEPENDENT

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