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Al-Qaeda Surrender Collapses, Assault on Tora Bora Continues
TORA BORA, Afghanistan, Dec. 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Negotiations for a possible surrender by besieged al-Qaeda fighters collapsed Wednesday and B-52 bombers and other U.S. warplanes resumed their bombing of the Tora Bora complex of caves where Saudi exile Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding.
U.S.-backed Afghan militiamen surrounding Tora Bora had given al-Qaeda fighters a Wednesday morning deadline to lay down their surrender and evacuate their eastern mountain stronghold.
Both sides had been carrying out talks on an al-Qaeda surrender by walkie-talkie for the last few days. In the end, the Afghan militia was unable to persuade al-Qaeda fighters to meet the deadline and the siege against the last remaining al-Qaeda military redoubt in Afghanistan resumed.
"We are preparing for war as the talks have failed. The al-Qaeda fighters firmly refused to surrender before the Nangarhar provincial administration," said Amin, spokesman for local militia commander Hazrat Ali.
"The al-Qaeda fighters said they would only surrender in the presence of United Nations representatives and diplomats from their respective countries," Amin told Agence France-Presse.
"Because they are not laying down their arms," he added, "our forces are now preparing to launch a ground attack, probably early tomorrow morning."
Amin said the al-Qaeda force numbered around 1,000 Arabs and other foreigners. They have already been battered for 10 days by air and ground assaults, including an attack by one of the most powerful conventional bombs, a 15,000-pound "daisy cutter".
U.S. B-52 bombers have delivered most of the more punishing blows against al-Qaeda positions. The heavy bombers carried out the first of two raids, as flashes from at least two large bombs lit up the mountain peaks.
Soon afterwards, a large propeller plane could be heard flying towards the mountains. It was thought to be an AC-130 gunship, whose cannons and Gatling guns can devastate a wide area.
U.S. coalition spokesman Kenton Keith said in Islamabad there was no question of anything short of an unconditional surrender.
"The al-Qaeda is in no position to decide its surrender conditions," he said. "Their option is to surrender to the forces they are facing."
Washington says the Saudi-born bin Laden masterminded the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, which killed some 3,300 people.
A US government official said Tuesday that U.S. intelligence services believed they had detected bin Laden himself and members of his inner circle among the fighters in the Tora Bora region.
Media reports say an undisclosed number of American forces have been transported to Tora Bora and are believed to be advising the Afghan militia on its assault against the mountain cave complex.
Pentagon officials said the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal - a 7.5-ton (15,000-pound) "daisy cutter" - was dropped on a cave over the weekend.
The U.S. television network ABC News reported that in addition to causing mass destruction, the blast had sparked a series of panicked radio and satellite calls among al-Qaeda members. The network also said those communications provided confirmation that bin Laden and his entourage remain in the region, the network said.
Since the collapse of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, which protected al-Qaeda, the focus of the U.S. campaign has been on capturing or killing bin Laden and Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush's administration was weighing a decision to release a videotape it says proves its allegations that bin Laden masterminded the deadly September 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington.
The White House was tight-lipped Tuesday about what time the videotape might be made public or even if it will be released at all. But a senior administration official said it would likely be released Wednesday.
"That remains an issue that is being reviewed by the Defense Department. I do not have an update for you at this moment about the timing of its release, if it, indeed, will be released," said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer.
"But it's the president's judgment that the more information that can be shared, the better," Fleischer told reporters.
There is reportedly concern within the administration that the release of the tape may compromise intelligence gathering methods or possibly undermine the administration's case against bin Laden.
The tape reportedly shows bin Laden saying he was happily surprised by the extent of the damage at the World Trade Center - destroyed when two hijacked passenger planes slammed into the twin towers - and using words that show he knew of the attack before it happened.
In interviews, bin Laden has repeatedly denied being behind the attacks, though he has praised the attackers.
The 40-minute recording, which was found in Afghanistan, also reportedly shows bin Laden making comments that indicate that some of the hijackers did not know they were on suicide missions.
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, (R-Alabama), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, viewed the video on Tuesday. He called it the "smoking gun" in the case against the suspected terrorist mastermind.
"I think the most striking thing about the video is it shows unequivocally Osama bin Laden's culpability in this event of 9/11." said Shelby.
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