KABUL (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden is personally leading about 1,000 fighters defending his mountain strongholds in eastern Afghanistan, a Northern Alliance spokesman said on Sunday.
Mohammad Amin told Reuters by satellite telephone from Jalalabad that anti-Taliban forces had pushed bin Laden's al Qaeda fighters out of their bases in the cave-riddled Tora Bora heights and were attacking them in nearby forests.
"Osama himself has taken the command of the fighting. He, along with around 1,000 of his people, including some Taliban officials, have now dug themselves into the forests of Spin Ghar after we overran all their bases in Tora Bora," Amin said.
"He (bin Laden) is here for sure. The American planes have been carrying out regular and severe bombings to kill him," he said, adding that at least one of the Saudi-born militant's Arab fighters had been killed in "very intense" fighting.
There was no independent confirmation of Amin's account.
U.S. warplanes have been pounding suspected bin Laden hideouts in the Tora Bora peaks about 55 km (35 miles) south of Jalalabad for several days in support of local Afghan forces pursuing the world's most wanted man.
I didn't post this as news because I'm sick of Reuters.
Reuters is becoming the Al Jazera news source.
Ah, come on! They aren't nearly that good.
Osama bin Laden is personally leading about 1,000 fighters defending his mountain strongholds in eastern Afghanistan, a Northern Alliance spokesman said on Sunday.
Yep, Geraldo spotted him while over hearing some so-called Afghani say, "Look at Osama, standing there like a stone wall..."
Osammy is a coward who uses others to do his fighting. The thought of him standing there personally leading his merry band of terrorists is laughable.
Maybe he will strap on one of those suicide belts and walk into a Marine Base to surrender? Yeah, sure... the Taliban already brought him his 72 virgin camels. He's too busy with them.