Afghan insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed in a rare interview with Pakistani television broadcast today that his fighters helped al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden escape intense US bombardment and a hunt in eastern Afghan mountains five years ago.

Afghan border police have found at least four bodies at the scene of a civilian helicopter crash in the eastern Afghan mountains, a senior police official said today.

WOMEN singers have been banned from appearing on television in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar after their performances were branded un-Islamic.