Eastern Alliance Commander Haji Zahir during an interview by the Sky News team near the headquarters from which he orchestrated his offensive on the Taliban remnants and Al Qaida holdouts at Tora Bora. Although competent in English, Zahir will only allow a taped interview to be conducted in Pashto.

Less than ten kilometers from where approximately 1,000 members of Al-Qaida, their families, and allegedly Osama bin Laden himself hid among mountain caves, the world media clustered atop a rocky knoll. With a public hungry for details regarding this potential endgame to an emotionally charged conflict, journalists scrambled to file informational and insightful reports. In wartime coverage of shifting combat situations, there is little in the way of certainty. In the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan at Tora Bora, the search for the truth proved more elusive than Al-Qaida fighters.