Taliban leaders 'flee to safety'

Almost all the Taliban leaders are alive and have given American-backed Afghan forces the slip, US officials said today.

"Many of the Taliban's leadership have melted back into their home tribes, joined the opposition or crossed the border into Pakistan," one official told the New York Times.

In an attempt to prevent more escapees reaching safety, America has made an arrangement with Pakistan to permit "hot pursuit" of al Qaeda fighters fleeing across the border, other officials said.

This deal will allow American troops to pursue the fighters on the ground and from the air, but Pakistan wants America to ask permission in each case.

After the collapse of their Tora Bora complex, the number of al Qaeda fighters making for Pakistan is in the hundreds, and American intelligence suspects Osama bin Laden is among them. Swelling the throng are many people who worked closely with Taliban leader Mullah Omar. They are reported to have become disillusioned with his leadership.

One of these is the Taliban foreign minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil who has broken with Bin Laden and may be in Pakistan.

The air strikes on Taliban strongholds did not eliminate many of the Taliban leadership, officials say. The most senior figure to die was Mullah Abdul Jalil, the deputy foreign minister. Among the survivors are Obdaidullah Akham, the Taliban defence minister, and Amir Khan Muttaqui, minister of information.