Training camps for Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network stand empty throughout Afghanistan as the United States makes preparations for possible military strikes against Kabul, reports from the region say.
According to Pakistani and Indian press sources, “thousands” of al-Qaida network trainees have abandoned their terrorist training camps, dispersing throughout the country well into areas controlled by the ruling Taliban militia government.
Bin Laden’s supporters include youth from countries as varied as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Bosnia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Yeman and Chechnya, besides Uighur Chinese, Uzbeks and Tajiks, the Times of India said.
Meanwhile, the Taliban government has begun a mobilization of troops in earnest for combat against U.S. forces. Defense Minister Mullah Obaidullah said in a statement that 300,000 Afghans “experienced in jihad,” had been deployed in the capital, along the borders and at “other important sites.”
“We have instructed the whole mujahed nation to prepare themselves for jihad and wage holy war at any time they think is necessary,” Obaidullah said.
President Bush has ordered U.S. forces massed in the region following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. Some 6,800 people are believed to have been killed in the WTC attacks.
On Sunday, the Taliban government denied knowing the whereabouts of bin Laden, a claim readily dismissed by Washington.
“Of course they know where he is,” said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
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