Northern Opponents Watch
Meanwhile, back in Afghanistan…
Osama bin Laden was able to escape the clutches of US troops in Afghanistan thanks to a powerful military commander currently serving with the Afghan government, a rival warlord said.Commander Hazrat Ali helped the alleged terrorist mastermind flee from the eastern Tora Bora mountains during an intense US-led offensive last December, strongman Haji Zaman told reporters in this northwestern frontier city.
Ali was recently appointed security chief and commander of the country’s eastern zone by Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai, replacing the sacked Zaman.
Zaman said Ilyas Khel, another Afghan commander, had been appointed by Ali to guard the route by which bin Laden made his escape.
“Ilyas Khel was a supporter of bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network and Hazrat Ali knew it,” he said.
He said he was unaware of bin Laden’s current whereabouts and denied allegations that he was himself instrumental in the al-Qaeda chief’s escape.
“This is a lie. I captured 55 al-Qaeda fighters during the operation in Tora Bora and handed them over to the government,” he said.
