Left Behind in the Camps
R I S H K H O R T R A I N I N G C A M P. Afghanistan, Dec. 8 -- There were at least two dozen al Qaeda camps spread across Afghanistan and thousands of men were allegedly trained there in the last five years, ABCNEWS has learned.
At one of the largest camps, Rish Khor, south of Kabul, al Qaeda recruits were trained for terror. The ground is still scattered with weapons. Some of the buildings are still mined.
The noose used on the Taliban's enemies still hangs from a tree.
Locals say more than 6,000 Taliban fighters trained in this camp, including Afghans, Chechens, Arabs and Pakistanis. For seven nights in a row, America dropped bombs on this camp. Now there is hardly anything left.
Hundreds of Documents, Instructions
What is left are hundreds of documents, which include instructions on military tactics and manuals on weapons and different types of bullets. The documents also include instructions on how to make booby traps and bombs and switches.
There were also names of al Qaeda recruits and extensive notes about chemistry and physics, including drawings of test tubes. There was even a brand-new anti-tank missile sitting in a box.
U.S. special forces came here this week to see for themselves. Locals told ABCNEWS the Americans inspected buildings and collected documents.
They also said Osama bin Laden was a frequent visitor. "We never saw him ourselves," one local resident told ABCNEWS, "but every so often they would close the roads and keep us away. That is how we knew he was here."
Special Forces Raiding Camps
U.S. forces, with the help of the Northern Alliance, have been raiding and searches camps and houses where al Qaeda operated, including a house in Kabul.
From the information gathered at these places, it is clear that the terrorists were learning how to blow up airplanes, bridges and buildings, and they were collecting detailed information about chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, although there are no indications they were able to make them.
Al Qaeda created a complex network for teaching terror, and the sprawling compound outside of Kabul was just one of its many classrooms.
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