Rewards for bin Laden
American
military aircraft are broadcasting a radio message into Afghanistan announcing a
$25 million cash reward for information leading to his location or capture.
Ground troops are spreading the word too. With the Taliban all but defeated, the
American military now is on a hunt for bin Laden and for Ayman al Zawahri (
).
The two top most wanted FBI terrorists were last known to be in Afghanistan.
The
US hope seems at present to be that bounty hunters will search the caves and
rugged landscape, scouring the country for signs of bin Laden, al Zawahri, and
other terrorists including top al Qaida leaders.
Defense
officials say several hundred Special Operations troops are already combing the
harsh Afghan terrain looking for possible bin Laden hide-outs and they are
doubling to as many as 1,600 the number of U.S. Marines aboard ships near
Afghanistan -- a commando-trained force that could be mobilized at short notice.
Officials cautioned against speculation that Washington might suddenly mount a
major military search for bin Laden and members of his al Qaida network.
Defense Secretary,
Donald Rumsfeld announced ()
that a reward for bin Laden increased from $5 million to $25 million. The US
package of reward offers include 21 other terrorists thought to be in
Afghanistan, perhaps with bin Laden.
Washington confirmed that documents found in a Kabul building believed to have been used as a safe house by Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network contained details about how to produce nuclear weapons. US Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said the information could have been found on the internet and it did not mean Bin Laden was able to build a nuclear device.
Taliban supporters continue to gather in the thousands at the headquarters of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islami, where the Party of Islamic Clerics are planning strategy to resurrect the jihad. In recent days, it has been decided to continue to raise money for the Taliban and to send thousands of recruits across the border to join their ranks. Also, to hide Taliban and to use the long border with Afghanistan for these purposes. There are many places for providing at least temporary sanctuary for the Taliban in tribal areas along the border.
The
last confirmed sighting of Bin Laden situates him somewhere near the city of
Jalalabad, east of the capital, where he is said to have a complex of training
camps. Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who interviewed him last week, says he
was wrapped in a blanket and driven in a jeep with covered windows for five
hours from Kabul, traveling over hilly roads. US and British officials believe
he may be in the south, close to Kandahar, where the Taleban leader Mullah
Mohammed Omar is based. Bin Laden claims he shall never be taken ()
alive.
The mountains in this area also have many caves and bunkers with remote and hidden entrances, where hundreds of people can hide. The tunnels, which are thousands of metres inside mountains and can be more than two stories high, were built by Afghan fighters during the war against the Soviets. They are so deep that they were impervious to intense bombing by Soviet forces. Bin Laden later expanded these caves, reinforcing the interiors with concrete and sealing them with steel doors.
Bin Laden and his followers have also used a network of caves in the mountains of the Oruzgan province, north of Kandahar, to hide in the past.
Another possibility that has been raised is that Bin Laden may be hiding south of the city of Khost in Paktia province. Geologists say rocks seen in a video released by Bin Laden video after the US bombing began can be traced to the region. The area boasts deep underground bunkers built during the war against the Soviets, big enough to hide tanks and other weapons.
Military experts say that special forces will be needed to rout Bin Laden from his bunkers and caves. That requires good local intelligence, including reliable informants, which has so far proved difficult.
Reports have placed Bin Laden in the Russian republic of Chechnya and the Indonesian island of Lombok. Others have suggested he might try to move to Somalia, Sudan, Iraq or even neighboring Pakistan where support for him is high in some areas.
