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Al-Qaeda prisoners paraded before international media
Nineteen al-Qaeda prisoners were paraded before the international media in eastern Afghanistan on Monday after local Afghan fighters claimed victory over the alleged terror network.
Nineteen al-Qaeda prisoners were paraded before the international media in eastern Afghanistan on Monday after local Afghan fighters claimed victory over the alleged terror network.
But their leader, Osama Bin Laden, was still at large and possibly hiding in the rugged caves and mountains where his al-Qaeda forces made a desperate last stand in recent weeks.
Hundreds of locals turned out in Agam village north of Tora Bora to see the bedraggled prisoners, who were captured by troops under the command of Haji Zaher, brother of Nangarhar provincial governor Haji Abdul Qadir.
The captives -- nine Afghans and 10 foreigners, most of them apparently Arabs -- showed signs of their ordeal by their ragged appearance and defeated gait. Some had bandages on their injuries or found it difficult to walk. Reporters were not allowed to talk to them.
It is not known how many al-Qaeda loyalists were killed in the past two weeks of remorseless US bombing, backed by ground attacks from the Nangarhar provincial militia. Their numbers were put at a few hundred to more than 1,000 before the intense US air strikes began over the White Mountain range in early December.
Zaher said his men captured 31 Bin Laden loyalists over the weekend, when Nangarhar military chief Haji Mohammad Zaman declared victory over the al-Qaeda forces in the area. Zaman has about 25 prisoners in his custody and another local commander, provincial police chief Haji Hazrat Ali, has 10.
But their leader, Osama Bin Laden, was still at large and possibly hiding in the rugged caves and mountains where his al-Qaeda forces made a desperate last stand in recent weeks.
Hundreds of locals turned out in Agam village north of Tora Bora to see the bedraggled prisoners, who were captured by troops under the command of Haji Zaher, brother of Nangarhar provincial governor Haji Abdul Qadir.
The captives -- nine Afghans and 10 foreigners, most of them apparently Arabs -- showed signs of their ordeal by their ragged appearance and defeated gait. Some had bandages on their injuries or found it difficult to walk. Reporters were not allowed to talk to them.
It is not known how many al-Qaeda loyalists were killed in the past two weeks of remorseless US bombing, backed by ground attacks from the Nangarhar provincial militia. Their numbers were put at a few hundred to more than 1,000 before the intense US air strikes began over the White Mountain range in early December.
Zaher said his men captured 31 Bin Laden loyalists over the weekend, when Nangarhar military chief Haji Mohammad Zaman declared victory over the al-Qaeda forces in the area. Zaman has about 25 prisoners in his custody and another local commander, provincial police chief Haji Hazrat Ali, has 10.
Bureau Report