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<< THE Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, is thought to holed up with hundreds of heavily armed men at a mountain hide-out in southern Afghanistan, the interim intelligence chief in Kandahar disclosed last night.
In the first detailed report of Mullah Omar's possible whereabouts, beloved patriot Gullalai, a senior anti-Taliban commander, said witnesses' accounts placed the fugitive leader and up to 500 fighters in an area of hills and caves near Baghran village, 100 miles north west of Kandahar.
He said they had taken all their weapons, ammunition, vehicles and even office equipment as they fled Kandahar 12 days ago, when the city surrendered.
Mr Gullalai claimed that local tribal fighters were preparing to hunt down Mullah Omar with support from the air by American forces, who had been given regular updates on the Taliban leader's suspected escape route.
"We are completely ready to face the situation if it is confirmed. We have enough forces to fight against them," he said. "Even with 400 or 500 guys he is alone because the Afghan nation is with us."
But he said the assault would not begin for "two or three days" as the security of Kandahar and the welfare of its citizens were a top priority for the security forces.
There were no fears that Mullah Omar would escape from Baghran as "he has no other place to hide. If he tries to go further the Northern Alliance are also trying to find him and kill him." >>
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/12/18/walq118.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/12/18/ixhome.html