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Some of Osama bin Laden's forces, chased up mountainsides, may be ready to give up. U.S. officials are skeptical.
Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 12, 2001
TORA BORA, Afghanistan -- Coalition forces struck hard by land and air at the last stronghold of al-Qaida fighters here Tuesday, triggering a promise by at least some of them to surrender.
Pentagon officials voiced caution about claims of surrender and said the developments might only signify a lull that could be used by al-Qaida fighters to escape what increasingly looked to be the culmination of the Afghan conflict.
Tribal commanders gave the al-Qaida fighters one night to come down from their caves and mountain hide-outs and turn themselves in for international prosecution, or else face a renewed assault. After the 8 a.m. deadline passed today with no apparent wholesale surrender, an American B-52 bombed the Tora Bora area.
According to radio communications monitored by journalists, the zeal of al-Qaida appeared to be crumbling. Anti-Taliban commander Haji Mohammed Zaman said: "They told me, 'We don't want to fight with you. We surrender.' "
Earlier, an al-Qaida fighter pleaded in Pashto, "Please stop the fighting, and we will talk to you about a surrender."
"There is no condition; they must come," Zaman said. "They must get up from their caves and come hand in their arms."
But it wasn't clear how many fighters would turn themselves in, or whether their pleas were sincere.
At the Pentagon, officials described the fighting as especially fierce and desperate, with al-Qaida apparently willing to take many casualties to defend its final stronghold.
One official said the intensity of the fighting suggested that the members of the terror network might be defending Osama bin Laden or other top leaders, though that remained guesswork. The official said the lull and the effort to begin talks might have been no more than a ploy aimed at winning enough time to prepare a counteroffensive.
Officials said al-Qaida troops, after several days of fighting, had retreated into a valley partway up the mountains. They had been taking refuge in the caves scattered throughout the area, but by Tuesday many had emerged to fight in the open, perhaps in part because U.S. warplanes had crushed cave entrances.
Opposition fighters reportedly were firing at them from positions above and below them on the mountain.
U.S. forces continued to pound al-Qaida positions with AC-130 gunships, menacing aircraft that can concentrate fire from two cannons and a heavy Gatling machine gun.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said all U.S. warplanes in action Tuesday had been assigned to the Tora Bora area.
Al-Qaida fighters, most of them apparently Arabs, Chechens and other non-Afghans loyal to bin Laden, took to the hills weeks ago and swore that they would not leave alive. Time and again, they turned away tribal elders who offered to guide their wives and children to safety. They said there was no greater glory than to die in defense of Islam, and they refused to negotiate.
On Tuesday, Afghan commanders who have insisted that bin Laden was in the area suddenly wavered.
"Until today, I was sure he's available here," said Zaman, who last week threw a scout into jail on charges of lying after the young man reported that bin Laden was no longer in Tora Bora. "But now, you know, I don't know exactly."
Regardless, the options were dwindling for the hundreds of al-Qaida fighters believed to be hiding out in caves. Tribal soldiers captured some lower caves used for storage and were poised to sweep toward the central network of caves. Thick snow blocked the escape route over the mountains and into Pakistan.
Negotiations leading to the cessation of fighting went on for hours. Alongside a bunker that has swung between tribal and al-Qaida control six times in as many days, regional security chief Harzat Ali paced in a grove of thorn trees, barking into his walkie-talkie. Zaman was farther up the mountain.
A short time later, according to radio transmissions, two al-Qaida fighters climbed down for brief talks with Zaman. The commander sent the men, both Afghan, back to the caves with an ultimatum: Turn yourselves in by morning or face a renewed onslaught.
"Don't give them so much time," Ali urged Zaman. "And don't pull out of your positions tonight." But the commander didn't listen. "Come up and hold the line yourself," Zaman retorted.
A triumphant Zaman swept down a rocky mountain trail at sunset, his mujahedeen thronging behind him. Gleeful tribal warriors clustered along a rocky pass. "Don't worry, al-Qaida is over," they called to passing trucks.
Not everybody was so confident. "We're sure they're not finished yet," Ali said.
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon on Tuesday began laying out plans to handle the task of bringing to justice hundreds of enemy fighters that U.S. forces expect to round up.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said U.S. troops will route al-Qaida and Taliban fighters through large detention centers in Afghanistan and, after interrogation, send some to stand trial before criminal justice systems in Afghanistan, the United States or the fighters' home countries.
He said the U.S. forces will try to prevent enemy leaders from falling into the hands of peacekeeping troops from allied nations that might oppose capital punishment. And he vowed that U.S. military authorities will not send non-Afghan fighters to their home countries -- no matter how friendly those nations are to the United States -- if it appears that terrorist deeds would be overlooked.
"We would only send them back to a country where we felt the country had a similar attitude to ours about the undesirability of people running around and engaging in mass murder," he said.
Rumsfeld said the U.S. military will first round up "very large numbers" of enemy fighters for interrogation in Afghanistan.
Then the prisoners would be moved to detention areas, controlled either by Afghan opposition or U.S. forces. Marines have begun building such a facility at their base southwest of Kandahar.
Rumsfeld said some detainees then may be sent to the United States or to U.S. ships at sea, while others may be shipped to their home countries.
Some prisoners could be taken before the U.S. military tribunals that President Bush authorized last month for trying terror suspects.