Alliance takes Tora Bora - but where is bin Laden?

Fears were growing tonight that Osama bin Laden may have eluded the coalition and tribal forces which successfully laid siege to the last remaining al-Qaida stronghold in Afghanistan.

Tribal forces declared victory in the battle for the Tora Bora area of mountainous eastern Afghanistan, saying they had killed more than 200 fighters and taken another 25 captive.

But they said there was no immediate sign of bin Laden, al-Qaida’s leader and the world’s most wanted man following the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.

And it remained unclear whether he had slipped out of Afghanistan, most probably heading for neighbouring Pakistan, buried himself deeper in a cave hideout - or whether he was even alive.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged that the administration knew nothing about bin Laden’s fate.

‘‘We don’t know where he is,’’ Mr Powell said.

The claim of victory in Tora Bora culminated weeks of fighting, and two months of US air strikes in the area.

Commanders conceded some al-Qaida fighters could be fleeing toward the Pakistani border.

Nevertheless Mohammed Zaman, the eastern alliance defence chief, was celebrating the success of his forces’ campaign to wrestle the mountains from al-Qaida fighters.

‘‘This is the last day of al-Qaida in Afghanistan,’’ he said. ‘‘There is no more need for American bombing. Our men have the situation under control.’’

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, making an unannounced visit to Bagram airbase north of Kabul, said he expected the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to number between 3,000 to 5,000 at most.

He said the UN-mandated force would be made up from forces from four to five countries and the United States would not be directly involved.

Mr Rumsfeld also revealed that US military forces took samples from an abandoned al Qaida training camp south west of Kandahar, that are being tested for traces of chemical and biological weapons material.