Words in the News Monday 17 December 2001 Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
Search continues for Osama Bin Laden Summary: United States and British Special Forces together with Afghan solders are continuing to search for Osama bin Laden and up to two-thousand of his men in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. One of his fighters who has been captured has said that Osama bin Laden was in the area a week ago. This report from Damian Grammaticas:
A vicious fight goes on in Afghanistan's mountains with up to two-thousand al-Qaeda fighters on the retreat. American bombing raids from the air have slowed but on the ground, the al-Qaeda men are being tracked - US and British Special Forces determined to capture or kill them before they have a chance to flee. Despite the gains on the ground, few of al-Qaeda's senior leaders have been found. The Americans say they don't know where Osama bin Laden is; their task now is to capture him and al-Qaeda's leaders.
If bin Laden is in the White Mountains, they have men watching his escape routes. From the handful of fighters who have surrendered have come stories of just how costly the battle has been. Thirteen Arabs being held by the local Afghan fighters said they had been part of a group of sixty - half their number had been wiped out by a single American bomb over the weekend. The few still alive on the mountain are demanding guarantees of their safety before they surrender.
