[link|http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/article/0,,9002-2001531181,00.html|But he's uncomfortably near the border]

Excerpts:

A British defence intelligence source said he was believed to be "static" somewhere to the southeast of Kandahar. "For a variety of reasons we can be confident that he has not been able to move far." Last night the Taliban envoy to Pakistan refuted claims that Bin Laden had left the country with his wives and children. "Osama is inside Afghanistan but I don't know whether he is in our territory or the area controlled by the Northern Alliance," said Salam Zaeef.

Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, has warned that Bin Laden might have access to a helicopter that could try to leave Afghanistan for a possible rendezvous with a private jet in Pakistan. However, America has imposed what it calls a "total picture" over the region, meaning that a mixture of satellite, spy plane and special forces cover should enable it to trace any movement on the ground.

The special forces arrived near Kandahar 10 days ago to block off escape routes and engage the enemy. "It has been about aggression and surprise," said one source. "We want to send a clear message that there is no safe way out to the rear of the Kandahar position."

...The plans were thrown into confusion yesterday, however, when Alliance commanders suggested that no more coalition troops would be welcome in the country. Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, telephoned Dr Abdullah Abdullah, his Alliance counterpart, who said last night: "If you are talking about the presence of thousands of fighting troops from outside Afghanistan, this is a major issue which has to be discussed. The events of the past few days showed that the forces which were capable of doing the job on the ground were the forces of the [Alliance]."