US Troops Comb Afghanistan For Bin Laden, Omar

Jan 07, 2002

KABUL, Monday - US-led coalition troops in conjunction with Afghan authorities were continuing to scour the country for bin Laden and elusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.

KABUL, Monday - US-led coalition troops in conjunction with Afghan authorities were continuing to scour the country for bin Laden and elusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.Omar gave Afghan forces the slip over the weekend, under the nose of 5,000 troops poised to strike on his hideout. But authorities here insisted they were confident the one-eyed cleric would be found before long. But with the coalition’s campaign in Afghanistan entering its fourth month on Monday, Washington appeared to have lost sight of bin Laden, accused of orchestrating the September 11 terrorist attacks. US senator John Edwards, on a tour of Central Asia, said on Sunday bin Laden had fled into Pakistan. “We met with the members of the Uzbekistan military intelligence earlier today. They’re of the belief that he’s now gone into Pakistan,” Edwards told Fox News in an interview from Tashkent, the Uzbek capital.“I fully expect that the Pakistanis, including General (Pervez) Musharraf, will do everything they can to help us locate bin Laden,” he said. Pakistan has deployed thousands of military and police personnel along its porous western border with Afghanistan in a bid to apprehend any fleeing Taliban or al-Qaeda members. Another US senator, Bob Graham, admitted they were unsure where bin Laden or Omar were hiding out. “There’s a high level of feeling that they are both alive. That’s the best intelligence that we have,” he said. British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday urged the global community not to abandon Afghanistan as it began a massive rebuilding task after decades of war. Britain has taken a leading role in efforts to establish security in Afghanistan, committing 1,500 soldiers to the International Security Assistance Force, which is expected to reach 4,500 troops by mid January. AFP

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