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AP. 16 December 2001. Al - Qaida Surrender Raises Suspicions. TORA BORA -- Besieged al-Qaida fighters offered again Saturday to surrender as a new report surfaced that Osama bin Laden could be in the region. Opposition commanders feared the offer was just another ploy, and U.S. bombers kept up a relentless attack from the air. American forces heard bin Laden talking on short-range radio this past week in the Tora Bora area of eastern Afghanistan, a U.S. official in Washington said, lending credence to reports the al-Qaida leader was cornered there along with his troops. Afghan commanders said they knew nothing of the radio transmission. "The Pentagon has their way of knowing things. I have no new information on Osama," said commander Atiqullah Rachan. Tribal commanders, meanwhile, said they feared being duped by a new surrender offer from the predominantly foreign fighters of bin Laden's terrorist bands in the Tora Bora area, the last major pocket of al-Qaida resistance in Afghanistan. Two earlier surrender negotiations proved pointless and gave al-Qaida vital time to regroup or flee the region. "Don't give them time! They're taking advantage of time," an eastern alliance commander could be heard saying over two-way radio. >From the air, there was no cease-fire as U.S. planes pummeled the region, particularly the area around a heavily guarded cave where tribal commanders think bin Laden may be hiding. Even as eastern alliance fighters streamed out of the mountains to pray on Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, B-52s dropped incendiary bombs in the surrounding forest Sunday. The bombardment continued an extremely heavy air attack over the previous two days in which 450 bombs were dropped in support of opposition fighters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
