Alliance: Bin Laden In South, Not Tora Bora

Dec. 1 -- As the battle for the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar continues, a spokesman for the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance says Osama bin Laden may not be where U.S. officials say they believe he is.

On Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney told ABCNEWS that American officials believe bin Laden — who they blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States — is hiding in eastern Afghan mountain caves near his Tora Bora hideout. U.S. forces are searching for bin Laden on the ground in the area, and launching airstrikes on caves there.

But the Northern Alliance now believes bin Laden most likely is in the Kandahar area of southern Afghanistan, ready to head to mountains for guerilla warfare action. Or, they said, he already may be in the mountains.

"I believe some of his lieutenants are in Tora Bora, but not bin Laden himself," Abdullah Abdullah, a Northern Alliance spokesman, told a news conference.

Battle for Kandahar

Abdullah's statements came as anti-Taliban forces outside Kandahar reportedly are advancing closer to the city and U.S. airstrikes continue to hit the area in and around the city, according to reports from refugees who spoke to reporters in Chaman, on the border with Pakistan. Anti-Taliban forces claimed today to be attacking the Taliban at Kandahar's airport. The reports of the assaults in the Kandahar region could not be verified.

The American bombs rained down every five minutes, the refugees said early today, and some said there was panic there. However, the Taliban continues to talk boldly about holding the city and continuing to fight to the very last man.

There were reports from within Afghanistan that American bombs had caused dozens or hundreds of civilian casualties, but American officials rejected the reports.

About 1,000 U.S. Marines have taken over a desert airstrip within striking distance of Kandahar. They are expected to put pressure on the Taliban in the city, blocking roads and taking control of the city's one paved airport, but it is unclear if they will participate in any siege of the city.