The treacherous hills where bin Laden may be hiding out

Nestled among the alluring valleys and protective caves and crevices of White Mountain in east Afghanistan is a small, stony village.

On the surface, this is a sleepy hamlet like thousands of others spread across the treacherous terrain of this hate-filled, war-torn, country. But Tora Bora, just 40 kilometres from Jalalabad, is different from the rest.

The village is one of two areas in Afghanistan in which the US-led alliance has narrowed its search for Osama bin Laden. An estimated 2,000 Arab al-Qaeda followers are also said to be scattered in this region, taking cover in its complex web of hiding-places. They are taking refuge in the treacherous hills that no foreigner has yet learned to negotiate.

The mere mention of Tora Bora is enough to send a shiver down the spine of the toughest of Mujahideen commanders here in Jalalabad. In the last week, Tora Bora has been described by locals as one of the scariest places in Afghanistan.

White Mountain, or Spinghar Mountain, is close to the border with Pakistan.

The land on the other side is controlled by different tribes, and there is strong sympathy for the al-Qaeda organisation and the Taliban.

When the Taliban pulled out of Jalalabad and the Nangarhar province more than a week ago, just after the fall of Kabul, the Arab fighters escaped, making their way to Tora Bora and the surrounding snow-capped mountain range.

The leaders of the eastern jirga, the decision-making council for the province, say the Arabs in Tora Bora have everything they need to fight a guerilla war.

They are extremely well trained. They have rockets, machine-guns and rifles. But, more worryingly, they are equipped with the will to fight to the death.

The newly appointed security chief for Jalalabad, Hazrat Ali, told The Irish Times he believed that bin Laden himself could also be there.

But Ali and other senior commanders, know they cannot take on the Arabs on their own. The senior intelligence officer for the eastern province, Mr Sohrab Quadri, said help would be needed from the international community.

"Bombing is not going to have any impact. One way they could help is to give us arms," he added.

The Arabs are thought to be roaming the region in small groups. Hazrat Ali believes that the four journalists murdered on the road from Jalalabad to Kabul after being forced from their cars may have been the work of Arabs. The spot was only 50 miles from Tora Bora.

For weeks now, US bombers have been dropping their deadly cruise missiles and cluster bombs across this mountain range and anywhere else they think bin Laden and his associates are hiding out.

On Thursday night, the bombs came nearer Tora Bora, and could be heard clearly from the hotel in Jalalabad where media are staying. No one in his or her right mind would travel to Tora Bora these days.

But across from the Spinghar mountain is its sister, Torghar, or Black Mountain. The drive up the mountain to Kakrak village from Jalalabad is tortuous. There are no roads to speak of. It is bumpy, stony track all the way. It would take the toughest of Britain's Special Air Service troops or our own Army rangers to conquer this land.

Life is tough for the people of Torghar. There is no electricity and they survive day to day. They have little contact with the outside world.

It is said there are many villages higher up these mountains, where people are so cut off they are not even aware of the US bombardment of the country.

Kakrak is only 20 kilometres as the crow flies from Tora Bora. It is practically deserted, with the village's 60 families fleeing three weeks ago when US B52s bombed the caves lodged in the side of the mountain overlooking the village.

Falling debris and stones hit houses in the village. Built from mud, it does not take much to damage them. A toddler, Imran Gul (1 1/2), died, and his sister Bahema (12) was badly injured.

Their father, Awal Gul, sits in the ruin of his home and tells the story.

"It was one o'clock in the afternoon. There were two planes and they let off two bombs each. Two of my children were hurt. We got a car and drove them to hospital in Jalalabad. My son died the next day. We are the poorest of the poor. We are innocent people who have lived here all our lives," he says.

Osama bin Laden in not in Torghar mountain, he says. "There is no-one here."

Pointing to the caves on the mountainside, he said soldiers had not used them since the Soviet war. "We use these caves to store hay."

The main link this village has with the outside world is the one radio in the village. The people listen to the BBC Pashtun service.

Awal Gul brings us to one of the caves. Deep and dark, it is the perfect hiding-place for bin Laden and his associates.

According to another local man, Hashmad Ali, bombing mountains is not going to deliver bin Laden. "Look what happened here. You can see how it would be nearly impossible for American bombs to penetrate Afghanistan's mountains."