An Afghan tribal leader said he was "sure" leader of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden was dug in near Tora Bora in the mountains to the east of Afghanistan.
"He, along with around 1,000 of his people . . . have now dug themselves into the forests of Spin Ghar after we overran all their bases in Tora Bora. He is here for sure," Northern Alliance spokesman Mr Mohammad Amin said.
The view was echoed by the US military. "Our latest information is . . . that he is in this area, the so-called Tora Bora area, Gener Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.
"They're in the hills with some other al-Qaeda fighters, and they are fighting fiercely against opposition forces, some of our forces and some of our air attacks, trying to survive," he said.
Uzbekistan opened a border bridge for aid deliveries to Afghanistan yesterday allowing UN aid agencies to resume operations in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif this week.
In the US, Vice-President Mr Dick Cheney declared a videotape of bin Laden found in Jalalabad and made after September 11th, "proved" his involvement in the attacks on the US.
Mr Cheney also repeated that the end of the military operation in Afghanistan would not mean the end of their ‘war on terrorism’.
He said in a television interview that US personnel were searching Afghanistan for any sign the Taliban or al-Qaeda had been developing germ, chemical or nuclear weapons.