The Boston Globe December 21, 2001
US weighs reinforcements as GIs search in mountains
By Patrick Healy, Globe Staff, and Bryan Bender, Globe Correspondent
JALALABAD, Afghanistan - More than 20 US special forces soldiers combed through caves, tunnels, and ravines in the Tora Bora mountains yesterday for clues that might shed light on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, and military leaders considered deploying reinforcements to help in the painstaking search.
After the capture this week of scores of fighters of bin Laden's terrorist group, Al Qaeda, the US soldiers and local tribal commanders were searching in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan for evidence indicating whether bin Laden has been in Tora Bora recently and where else he might be hiding.
In Washington, two defense officials said that the head of the US Central Command, General Tommy R. Franks, has recommended that ground troops, possibly from the 2,000 Marines currently in Afghanistan, supplement US special forces in cleaning out the hundreds of caves near Tora Bora.
The discussions reflect frustration by US military officials at the slow pace of the search and the perceived lack of effort by tribal forces, who undertook much of the fighting that led to a Qaeda retreat last week, but who now want to go home. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that no decision has been made on the deployment. But the recommendation underscores how much unfinished business there is in Afghanistan after more than two months of US military strikes and special forces operations.
Military analysts say that an expanded, methodical search of the caves in the rugged mountains would pose new risks to US troops, especially if they have to search without Afghan support.
"The hard part now begins," said John Pike, director of the firm GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Va. He cited mines, booby traps, and remaining Qaeda fighters as some of the hazards the operation presents.
In other develoments in the region:
The death toll in Wednesday's bloody uprising by Qaeda prisoners rose to 16, as Pakistani troops hunted for five remaining escapees.
Pakistani secret service agents detained Aminullah Amin, a senior Taliban security official, in their first such seizure since the overthrow of the Islamic movement. Although details were sketchy last night, Amin's capture raised hope of gaining information on the whereabouts of other Taliban officials, including Mullah Mohammed Omar, the top Taliban leader.
An explosion ripped through the crowded central market in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, injuring 100 people, six of them seriously, according to hospital officials and witnesses. One of the injured said he had seen a fragmentation grenade rolled into the moneychangers' section of the bazaar just before the late- afternoon blast. There was no known suspect in the attack, but the local health minister, Mirwais Rabde Sherzod, called the explosion a terrorist act. "The people who did this meant to destroy the peace and tranquility of our city," Sherzod said.
In Tora Bora, US officers met yesterday with Hazarat Ali, a top Afghan commander in the region, to discuss the search.
According to an Afghan military officer privy to the discussions, Ali said he believed that bin Laden was alive and possibly in the Tora Bora region, along with diehard Qaeda lieutenants who are protecting him. Ali added that more troops were needed and that wiping out Qaeda resistance in eastern Afghanistan could take weeks or months, the officer said.
"You have to go cave by cave, and that requires men and patience as the weather gets worse," said the officer, who declined to be identified.
American officers could be seen scanning pieces of paper and sorting through other material near the mouths of some of the caves, mujahideen soldiers near them said.
Snow and ice, chilly temperatures, and the darkness in the caves have complicated the search. Special forces have been searching on their way up to the rugged summits, where Afghans carved out networks of tunnels during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s to live and train out of the enemy's reach.
"The snow makes it difficult to go in all the caves, and it blocks holes for sunlight," said a mujahideen fighter named Ahmad, who spent yesterday in Tora Bora. "The Americans must know their search will take a long time."
Just over the border in Pakistan, troops swept through mountain passes, looking for Qaeda prisoners on the run after they overpowered their Pakistani guards Wednesday en route by bus to a prison in western Pakistan. The five remaining fighters were part of a group of about 150 arrested after fleeing from Tora Bora.
Seven prisoners reportedly died in an initial shootout, and another three were killed exchanging fire with guards early yesterday. Six soldiers were killed, and six others were wounded.
Military officials said last night that the escapees were out of ammunition and food and that soldiers had them cornered.
"They are being chased, and we expect to round them up in the next couple of hours," said Brigadier Saulat Raza, a government spokesman.
In an effort to prevent more Qaeda fighters from getting through, Pakistan further tightened security on the border near Tora Bora.
Also yesterday, the first British peacekeepers flew into Afghanistan, as the United Nations approved their mission to help the nation heal after decades of war. Fifty-three British Royal Marines landed at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul.
Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company
