Scramble to find Bin Laden

American and British forces are scrambling for intelligence on the movements of Osama bin Laden and his Taliban ally Mullah Omar. Intelligence has been scarce since the crisis began after the 11 September attacks.

Senior British staff officers at the Ministry of Defence admit they still have no up-to-the-minute information on Bin Laden. An officer said: "We have scraps of information but nothing that could bring immediate action. We know he has been travelling by all-terrain vehicles, by horse and on foot. No, we cannot be entirely sure he has not left Afghanistan but this is unlikely."

The nature of the manhunt illustrates the differing approach of the British and US forces. The Americans believe in electronic surveillance, even though the US bombing knocked out most of Afghanistan's communication systems early on.

Britain relies far more on a human element, the closer to the ground the better, and cuts in intelligence networks imposed by the Thatcher administration are now being reversed in the armed and intelligence services.