UK joins hunt for bin Laden

Four thousand British paratroops and Marines are preparing to go into Afghanistan as part of a stabilisation force and to help US forces hunt for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qa'ida terrorists.

The deployment of British combat forces indicates an important commitment by the Government as the end of the Taliban approaches. The main objective of the British and other multinational forces will be to shadow the warlords of the Northern Alliance and prevent a bloody civil war breaking out – as happened when the Soviet Union withdrew.

The force will play no role in controlling the territories but will give the impression to the world that the Afghans are running their own country again.

Tony Blair claimed yesterday that the Taliban were in a state of "total collapse" as the opposition made advances on the strategic cities of Jalalabad and Kandahar in the south of the country. The Taliban handed over three new provinces and were in negotiations to save their troops, encircled near Kunduz in the north.

But, as United Nations diplomats scrambled to catch up with the rapid pace of military events, the Prime Minister made clear that the capture of Mr bin Laden remained an important war objective. Although one of the main aims of the British force will beto stabilise the situation inside Afghanistan and help to bring in aid, combat units of Marines and Paratroops, along with the SAS, will actively search for Mr bin Laden and al-Qa'ida leaders.

The British force will also play a policing role in attempting to ensure that the Northern Alliance does not take savage retribution on Taliban supporters and the Pashtun population as the force marches south. The US mountain division which is in neighbouring Uzbekistan is preparing to deploy as well.

In an emergency statement to Parliament, Mr Blair detailed the composition of the Rapid Reaction Force. It will consist of troops from 3 Commando Brigade, 16th Air Assault Brigade, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment and 45 Commando Royal Marines. It will be given a range of support, including RAF transport and support helicopters, engineers and demining experts.

Mr Blair made clear that the British forces would join members of the SAS already on the ground, as well as US forces, in the search for Mr bin Laden and the al-Qa'ida leadership.

Intensive searches are taking place in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and other areas that are bordering Pakistan.

Mr Blair told the Commons yesterday: "The military job is not yet done. Bin Laden is still at large and so are his close associates. We will continue to hunt them down until we find them, for as long as it takes to bring them to the justice they deserve.".

To underline the message, the Prime Minister used a BBC World Service broadcast to urge Afghans in the south of the country to join the uprising, pointing out that there was a $25m (£17m) dollar reward for bin Laden's capture. "It is time for the rest of Afghanistan, particularly the ethnic groups in the south, to join the uprising against the Taliban and throw off their oppressive rule," Mr Blair said.

Downing Street said that British troops would hand Mr bin Laden over to a US court if he was captured alive, but stressed that the "reality of the situation" meant that he was unlikely to surrender.

A spokesman said: "We want to bring bin Laden to justice. That obviously means facing justice in a courtroom but he's very heavily armed, very heavily protected so it's perhaps an academic question.

"The noose is tightening around him. If Bin Laden is sitting in his cave at the moment, the walls must be closing in a little bit."

In Washington, The US vice-president, Dick Cheney, said that, despite advances, the US would continue its plan to "wrap up the al-Qa'ida network". He added: "It is a very good beginning to what's likely to be a long struggle."

General Tommy Franks, commander of Operation Enduring Freedom, added that the US would concentrate less on bombing and more on eliminating Mr Bin Laden's supporters. In the meantime, a limited campaign of US bombing will continue targeting pockets of resistance in locations such as Konduz.

As America and Britain sought to step up diplomatic efforts to build a broad-based post-Taliban government, the UN revealed that its Afghanistan envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, believed a special conference of all its potential elements was "imminent".

The conference, which will include the exiled king of Afghanistan as well as leaders of the Northern Alliance, will be held outside the country, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. Mr Brahimi's deputy Francesc Vendrell will be in Kabul by Friday, along with the UN humanitarian co-ordinator, Mike Sackett.

A British diplomatic presence will be restored this weekend. Mr Blair phoned both President Bush and later General Musharraf of Pakistan as the Allies sought to ensure the Northern Alliance alone did not fill the power vacuum left by the Taliban.

However, Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for Linlithgow and Father of the Commons, sounded a note of caution about using British military ground forces. "If you send in the troops, then how on earth can you get them out? This is Northern Ireland treble plus," he told Sky News.

In a newly-liberated Kabul, the Northern Alliance promised to resume television broadcasts that had been forbidden by the Taliban.