Rare photos have emerged of the primitive and isolated compound Osama Bin Laden lived in until a Western bombing campaign forced him to flee.
The images
resurfaced last month during the terrorism conspiracy trial in New York of Al
Qaeda lieutenant Khaled al-Fawwaz, a communications conduit for the terrorist
organisation in London in the mid-1990s.
They were
taken by Palestinian journalist Abdel Barri Atwan, who was invited to the
hideout in 1996 as part of Bin Laden's ploy to spread his message of hate to
the Western world.
The 9/11
mastermind had declared war on America and planned a media campaign to garner
international attention.
For several
years, he developed an intricate network of caves and dwellings 14,000ft up in
the White Mountains.
He
discovered the area during the anti-Soviet war in the 1980s, and decided to
settle and set up the compound in 1996 - when the Taliban had taken control of
Afghanistan.
Bin Laden
chose the location because of its proximity to the border with Pakistan, while
the rugged terrain meant it would be difficult for opposition forces to attack
on foot.
The system
of caves and underground passages meant he would also be protected from air
attacks.
He told
Atwan during the interview: 'I feel really secure in the mountains.'
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