Warlord preparing to attack bin Laden hideout

An Afghan warlord is preparing to attack a suspected mountain hideout of Osama bin Laden.

Hazrat Ali, the security chief for eastern Nangarhar province, says Tora Bora must be targeted by anti-Taliban forces soon.

The camp is in a high mountain valley filled with hidden caves near the Pakistani border.

"All the leaders of Nangarhar have taken the decision to eliminate the Arabs that are in Tora Bora as soon as possible," Ali said, adding that a delegation had been sent to negotiate a surrender.

But he said the post-Taliban administration can't wait too long for the fighters to come down from the 13,000 foot valley voluntarily.

"If we don't make a decision to attack soon, the Americans will decide to attack, so we will soon decide," Ali said.

Tora Bora is a well known cave complex built in the 1980s with US funding as a headquarters for guerrillas fighting against the Soviet occupation.

Ali, who fought the Soviets from Tora Bora, has described it as an impregnable fortress. He advised against US forces attacking it alone.