Bin Laden 'trapped in cave hideout'

The leadership of al Qaeda, including Osama bin Laden and his son, have been tracked to one reinforced cave overlooking the Malawa Valley of Afghanistan's White Mountains, a Mujahideen commander claimed today.

Hazrat Ali said from the ridge looking directly into al Qaeda's last hideout that the terrorists "have been completely surrounded whilst others managed to escape last night".

"There is one special place, a special cave, where the last of them are hiding. We think these include the top people.

"Right now the Mujahideen are searching other caves and I have just received news that in one place there are many dead and injured Arabs lying all around," said Ali, one of the three main infantry commanders on the frontline.

Confusion remains about Bin Laden: according to one report he has left Tora Bora and has taken refuge in an unknown location. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said today that Bin Laden had remained in Tora Bora until about 26 November. "After the 10th of Ramadan, Osama bin Laden disappeared from Tora Bora and left for some unknown place," a source is quoted as saying.

Afghan fighters, however, say they have just seized a cave occupied until very recently by Bin Laden. US intelligence officials believe the terrorist leader and some of his top henchmen are holed up in the caves. It is also thought that British and Australian SAS are sealing escape routes into Pakistan.

The frontline commander of the Mujahideen forces, Haji Zahir, said al Qaeda was fighting every inch of the way as their forces withdrew deeper into the mountains. "They're fighting for every foot of the ground," he said. He added: "We are going to search the caves. We hope to catch Osama."

The hideout is being targeted by the SAS and US Delta Force commandos. US jets are also bombing the area.

SAS soldiers have been spotted moving towards the hideout and local Mujahideen guerrillas said they are using horses as pack animals to scale the precipitous slopes of the White Mountains. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed that the number of commandos is being boosted in the area and they are expected to get involved in direct combat.

Mr Rumsfeld said there had been "something above a modest increase" in the number of special operations troops near Tora Bora. They are acting as spotters for US planes strafing and bombing al Qaeda positions while the Afghan tribal forces advance.

However, Mr Rumsfeld also said the US troops are now doing more than acting as advisers to the Afghan forces, although he offered no details.

Mohammed Palawan, one of Ali's senior officers, said his men estimated that between 100 and 120 al Qaeda terrorists face annihilation. "As our men get closer they have seen the Arabs committing suicide and we will have taken their position by the end of today," he said.

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