'Daisy Cutter' Hits Suspected Al Qaeda Hideout

Dec. 10 -- The U.S. military today dropped a 15,000-pound "daisy cutter" bomb on the mouth of a cave where key al Qaeda leaders were suspected of hiding, as American forces stepped up their bombing of a mountainous region believed to be the hideout of Osama bin Laden.

It was not known exactly who was in the cave or how much damage the bomb did, but a Pentagon spokesman said the weapon — which incinerates everything within 600 yards and has been used rarely in the 2-month-old Afghan campaign — was sure to have a "negative effect" on anyone hiding nearby.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said the bomb was dropped on the cave because "it was believed that that's where some substantial al Qaeda forces would be, and possibly including senior leadership."

When asked whether that senior leadership might include bin Laden himself, Stufflebeem smiled and said, "It certainly would be hopefully so."

With the surrender of the last Taliban-held province, Zabul, over the weekend, the U.S.-led coalition and the Afghan forces that had been fighting to overthrow the hard-line Islamic regime have turned much of their focus to tracking down al Qaeda forces still hiding in the country.

Particular attention has focused on the mountainous region of Tora Bora, south of Jalalabad, where there have been reports that bin Laden and senior al Qaeda members are hiding.

American bombers began hitting the region hard just after sunrise, softening the way for the Northern Alliance to try to take out the al Qaeda forces that have sought refuge in the mountains. Northern Alliance commanders said 2,500 troops were ready to take part in the assault.

One Northern Alliance commander said the bombing raids had already driven bin Laden loyalists from their hideouts.

"There is repeated day and night bombing. All of Tora Bora has been taken by our mujahideen. The enemy is on mountain tops between Tora Bora and Waziri Gorge," Hazrat Ali said.

"Osama may be there too," he added. "He was seen five days ago and an Afghan prisoner who we have confirmed it too. Osama has set up new caves and [an] underground protection system on top of these mountains. His people are putting up extremely tough resistance."