B52s break bin Laden's men
thetimes.co.uk
THE aftermath of the battle for Tora Bora was apocalyptic: a blasted scene of shredded clothes, bloodied shoes and scraps of abandoned food.
Yesterday, as we walked past caves and defensive positions that al-Qaeda fighters had abandoned only hours before, Mujahidin fighters marched forward, their Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades hanging off their shoulders, calling out excitedly.
“They’re gone,” said one. “The Arabs have run away.”
On this battlefield the awesome power of the bomber to destroy men and morale was in no doubt.
The 15,000lb daisy-cutter bomb leaves little in its path, creating a 600-yard radius of destruction. Everything was blackened and broken.
Everywhere we saw bloody shoes, tins of tomatoes, packets of biscuits, pieces of food the enemy had eaten before their last stand against the anti-Taleban forces were scattered in front of their abandoned positions.
The eight days of bombing finally shattered the morale of the al-Qaeda fighters and yesterday forced them to turn and run.
Wave after wave of B52s delivered the explosive force equivalent to the bombing of Dresden. The bombing was continuing last night with AC130 gunships being deployed again above al-Qaeda positions.
For a week the Arabs had fought fiercely with mortars, tanks and long-range missiles. But yesterday, as 800 Mujahidin fighters were deployed against them, they were flushed from their caves and forced to climb to the higher ridges where escape will be difficult, if not impossible. A senior commander, Hazret Ali, said he was “one hundred per cent sure” that bin Laden, who was believed to be leading the men, was still with them. “He was spotted yesterday by our intelligence,” he said.
Last night the Afghan Eastern Alliance commanders were claiming a decisive victory, with a possible Taleban surrender expected early this morning. But more than 1,000 al-Qaeda fighters were thought to be streaming towards the Pakistan border as they attempt to flee.
According to local commanders dozens of heavily armed American soldiers made lightning raids against al-Qaeda command centres overnight and returned to the nearby village of Pacir before sunrise.
In one place, fires still smoked where the Arab fighters had made their morning tea before being overrun by the Mujahidin.The trees were burnt and shrivelled, their branches, like arms, reaching towards the sky. On remnants of a CBU87 cluster bomb, an American soldier had written before dropping his weapon: “For those whose dreams were taken, Here are a few nightmares. This is gonna shine like a diamond in a goat’s ass.”
There was the stink of death, too, with pieces of uniform hanging from the trees, where someone had been blown apart by a bomb.
Three al-Qaeda fighters in a snipers’ nest were shredded by gunfire.
Down the mountain gorge into the Milewa Valley, the air was still except for the sporadic sound of machinegun fire and the occasional shell, the silence frightening after a week of heavy fighting. I climbed down the mountain, past a pile of stones that were used as gun positions and shelter from sniper and mortar fire, and into the caves and forward positions of the al-Qaeda fighters.
I did not feel brave. I could not forget the words of the fighters who vowed they would fight to the death. The same ones who told villagers that they would come and kill any Westerners who ventured here. “They might still be somewhere, hiding,” said one mujahidin soldier who had been fighting since early morning and whose shoes had fallen apart from marching up and down the ridges. He was leading me towards the caves, helping me up the dusty mountain.
“This could be a trap.” He still could not believe that the battle was nearly over. He pointed to the darkness of the cave that he was guarding, the stacks of ammunition boxes, the empty shells and cartridges, remnants of al-Qaeda.
Down the valley, between the ridges where the plumes of smoke from bombs dropped by B52s rose, were further reminders of how these fighters had lived for the past few weeks. They left behind pieces of gym equipment — green plastic barbells, boxing gloves, weights —- and in the middle of the field they had constructed a primitive chin-up bar.
Inside the dankness of the caves, there were scattered documents in Arabic, tattered notebooks, Kevlar helmets. Pillows and mattresses remained where they had slept.
A soldier pointed out a ruined position. He said bin Laden had lived here. “This was his house, his place.”
As the sun went down, the soldiers gathered their blankets around their uniforms and prepared to break their fast for Ramadan. In one valley that had been gutted by bombs, a wrecked tank was left abandoned in the middle of the field. An elderly mujahidin was standing near it, oblivious to this object of destruction. He was facing East, praying.
Although US officials believed that bin Laden is probably still in the Tora Bora region, they said there was no clear indication of where he is. |
