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US bombs Tora Bora to force al-Qaeda surrender
US aircraft continued to pound targets in the cave-riddled Tora Bora area of eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, in a bid to force Osama Bin Laden`s al-Qaeda fighters to surrender.
US aircraft continued to pound targets in the cave-riddled Tora Bora area of eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, in a bid to force Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda fighters to surrender.
At least five large explosions were heard shortly before dawn from a vantage point in the White Mountains. US Air Force B-52 bombers struck the honeycombed White Mountains range near the Pakistani border after an agreement for al-Qaeda fighters defending the area to surrender to local Afghan militia collapsed on Wednesday.
The Pentagon vowed not to let up until the al-Qaeda fighters surrender, with spokeswoman Victoria Clarke saying: "There wasn't a pause, there isn't a pause. As we get targets of opportunity we will pursue them." Bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda network are Washington's prime suspects in the September 11 terror attacks that left some 3,300 people dead.
The United States launched a military campaign against Afghanistan's Taliban regime on October 7 for refusing to hand over Bin Laden, who had been the militia's honoured guest and is now a wanted fugitive.
Forces loyal to Bin Laden missed a surrender deadline set for early Wednesday, prompting renewed US efforts to bomb them out of the mountains. "The al-Qaeda fighters said they would only surrender in the presence of United Nations representatives and diplomats from their respective countries," said Amin, a spokesman for commander Hazrat Ali, after an 8:00 a.m. (0330 GMT) Wednesday surrender deadline passed without any activity.
UN officials had already said they were in no position to receive prisoners in the Afghan conflict.
It was still unclear whether Bin Laden was holed up with the last of his fighting forces in the cave complex, the Pentagon said. Islamabad has reinforced forces in the border region to prevent any fugitives escaping into their territory, focusing on the only two mountain passes into Pakistan, but US officials are clearly worried Bin Laden could slip away.
Marine Corps General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted Wednesday that "we don't know who is escaping."
But "it's reasonable to expect that some could get out of the mountain complex. It's certainly conceivable that groups of two or three ... 15 or 20 could get out of there," he told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
Bureau Report
At least five large explosions were heard shortly before dawn from a vantage point in the White Mountains. US Air Force B-52 bombers struck the honeycombed White Mountains range near the Pakistani border after an agreement for al-Qaeda fighters defending the area to surrender to local Afghan militia collapsed on Wednesday.
The Pentagon vowed not to let up until the al-Qaeda fighters surrender, with spokeswoman Victoria Clarke saying: "There wasn't a pause, there isn't a pause. As we get targets of opportunity we will pursue them." Bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda network are Washington's prime suspects in the September 11 terror attacks that left some 3,300 people dead.
The United States launched a military campaign against Afghanistan's Taliban regime on October 7 for refusing to hand over Bin Laden, who had been the militia's honoured guest and is now a wanted fugitive.
Forces loyal to Bin Laden missed a surrender deadline set for early Wednesday, prompting renewed US efforts to bomb them out of the mountains. "The al-Qaeda fighters said they would only surrender in the presence of United Nations representatives and diplomats from their respective countries," said Amin, a spokesman for commander Hazrat Ali, after an 8:00 a.m. (0330 GMT) Wednesday surrender deadline passed without any activity.
UN officials had already said they were in no position to receive prisoners in the Afghan conflict.
It was still unclear whether Bin Laden was holed up with the last of his fighting forces in the cave complex, the Pentagon said. Islamabad has reinforced forces in the border region to prevent any fugitives escaping into their territory, focusing on the only two mountain passes into Pakistan, but US officials are clearly worried Bin Laden could slip away.
Marine Corps General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted Wednesday that "we don't know who is escaping."
But "it's reasonable to expect that some could get out of the mountain complex. It's certainly conceivable that groups of two or three ... 15 or 20 could get out of there," he told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
Bureau Report