Afghan official says commanders let Osama escape

Reuters AlertNet - Afghan official says commanders let Osama escape:

"KABUL, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden was provided safe passage to Pakistan in 2001 by Afghan commanders paid by al Qaeda and sympathetic to its cause, a senior Afghan official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Lutfullah Mashal, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman, said commanders helped the al Qaeda leader escape from the Tora Bora mountains as U.S. warplanes and Afghan forces attacked his hideout near the Pakistan border in late 2001.

'The help was provided because of monetary aid availed by al Qaeda and also partly because of ideological issues,' Mashal said."