US jets attack suspected al-Qaida convoy
US fighter jets today killed many Afghans driving in convoy in the Tora Bora region.
Pilots believed they were attacking Taliban and al-Qaida leaders.
The cars and trucks were hit by American strike aircraft and ‘‘substantial’’ numbers were killed, Marine General Peter Pace said.
The strike was near a village to the south-west of Tora Bora, the cave complex which American bombers had pounded until earlier this week, when the al-Qaida fled.
The general said strikes were carried out against convoys which American central command had reason to believe were made up of fleeing terrorists.
‘‘There was a substantial strike,’’ said the general, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He said it was believed it contained Taliban and al-Qaida leaders and this had made it a target.
The strike was the first time in three days American air power had been used in Afghanistan, where patrols continue overhead but planes are returning to base without dropping bombs.
Hundreds of Marines are being dispatched to Tora Bora to search through the abandoned caves for intelligence which could lead them to Osama bin Laden and reveal where al-Qaida’s cells are based and what they plan.
Bin Laden is thought to have fled the complex and there have been reports he has shaved off his beard and lost his turban, while American defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today there was ‘‘no way’’ of knowing if he was dead or alive.
