Tribal fighters had taken the last Al-Qaeda positions in eastern Afghanistan, but their leader, Osama bin Laden, still eluded the US dragnet, anti-Taliban commanders said Sunday. "He has not yet been captured," declared Hazrat Ali, commander of Afghan forces advancing cave by cave against Al-Qaeda fighters burrowed into the Tora Bora mountain range.
Haji Zaman, top military commander in the eastern Jalalabad region, said: "This is the last day for al Qaeda in Afghanistan." "Osama bin Laden is not here," he stated, adding his men would "search the mountains meter by meter" for survivors of his network.
Hazrat Ali and Mohammed Haji Zaman think the fighters, and possibly Osama bin Laden himself, are heading over the mountains into Pakistan. Thousands of Pakistani troops have taken up positions along the Afghan-Pakistani border to prevent escape attempts by al Qaeda members. (Albawaba.com)
