Search for Bin Laden continues

American gunships joined British and US Special Force commandos in "mopping up operations" around Tora Bora after routing al Qaeda. But the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden remained a mystery today.

Three Mujahideen guerrillas fighting alongside US troops were killed in last night's bombardment, which was aimed at cutting off the terrorist escape route to Pakistan. Two terrorists were also killed and three others captured.

The battle for Tora Bora dwindled to skirmished in remote valleys and forests after Bin Laden's mountain lairs were bombed to bits. His Afghan head quarters of a global terror network was smashed. Most of al Qaeda's members have escaped, been killed or captured.

While the Mujahideen celebrated victory at the end of a campaign in which al Qaeda's radio signals were intercepted and Bin Laden's billions of dollars were frozen or confiscated, Bin Laden's mythical status grows with every assault.

For two weeks, the British Special Air Service, America's Delta force and their Mujahideen allies bombed and searched his Tora Bora complex in the White Mountains, believing that the world's most wanted man was hiding in a vast complex of caves spread over five miles of hillsides.

At least 30 Afghan guerrillas died looking for him, 18 of them bombed by American jets. Five Americans were wounded and millions of pounds worth of high explosives and the awesome BLU-82 "daisy cutter" were hurled at the White Mountains. But with every bomb, the whereabouts of Bin Laden was obscured by a peasouper of disinformation, wishful thinking and downright nonsense.

Two weeks ago, we heard that he had been spotted on the frontline at Malawa, visiting his troops on horse back.

A few days later, we heard Arabic transmissions over the al Qaeda network, asking anxiously after the "Sheikh", Bin Laden's radio call-sign. Then the Pentagon said it had identified his voice pattern in more radio chatter.

Yesterday, the Mujahideen claimed that al Qaeda had been routed from the White Mountains. His "special cave" near the village of Wazir was overrun, perhaps 200 of his terrorists killed and around 50 captured. But there was no sign of Bin Laden or his top henchmen.

His ally, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, almost simultaneously disappeared from Kandahar.

Omar is believed to be hiding out in the south western desert of Afghanistan, or to have crossed into Pakistan's Baluchistan province. But Bin Laden remains a mystery.

Daman Gul, 18, a Mujahideen who captured caves from fleeing terrorists, said villagers who supplied al Qaeda told him Bin Laden had fled to Pakistan.

Today intelligence sources in Europe said that Bin Laden was just as likely to have escaped there several weeks ago. "Our guess is that he'll be heading for Mogadishu where he's already got a major stake in the local government and al Qaeda has a large training camp."

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