British and American special forces were today operating in Afghanistan after a week in which the full scale of the terrorism allegedly planned by Osama bin Laden was revealed.

The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime is refusing to hand over suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden because it would mean ‘‘Islam was finished’’.

The FBI has stepped up its probe into who backed last week’s suicide hijackers as it was revealed the attacks could have cost less than £140,000 to carry out.

Members Of Bin Laden's Al Quaida have denied any involvement in yesterday's terrorist attacks.

US officials investigating the series of attacks Tuesday in New York and Washington are setting their sights on Osama bin Laden, the millionaire Saudi fugitive who has been blamed for past terrorist attacks against American targets.