JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) -- Despite U.N. sanctions, suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden travels freely through the Afghan countryside, riding in an armor-plated vehicle with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in his hand, as he reportedly prepares new recruits for jihads around the region.
A guerrilla in bin Laden's organization, from his spartan hideout deep within the alleys of this eastern Afghan city, told of how the Saudi exile, seen by his supporters as a hero of Muslim resistance to the United States, keeps moving to escape those who pursue him."He will be here and then he will be gone. He never stays anywhere for any time," Abu Daoud said. The Yemeni guerrilla warned of a commando unit ready to take revenge for U.N.- imposed sanctions that took effect Sunday.
"We have now collected our people," Abu Daoud warned in an interview arranged by a Taliban commander. "If sanctions are imposed on Afghanistan, we will send our commando troops to do jihad (holy war)."
The United States has expressed suspicion that bin Laden's followers were behind attacks Friday against U.S. and U.N. facilities in neighboring Pakistan. But both bin Laden and the leader of the Taliban religious militia denied any involvement.
Washington accuses bin Laden of organizing a militant network, called al-Qaida, based in Afghanistan and says he masterminded last years bombings against the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people.
Despite a $5 million reward put on his head by Washington and a barrage of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles last year on his alleged bases in eastern Afghanistan, its been pretty much business as usual for bin Laden, said Abu Daoud.
Bin Laden occasionally visits training camps to see new recruits, who come from such places as Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Chechnya and Pakistan. Two such camps are located outside Jalalabad, one at Farmada and one at Darunta.
Another Taliban commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said bin Laden had paid a brief visit last week to the Farmada camp, tucked away at the end of a dirt road in a heavily forested and hilly area.
He arrived in a three-car convoy -- a nondescript white jeep with one guard, a four-wheel vehicle and an armored truck -- said the commander, in a black turban, his gray-flecked beard unkempt in Taliban tradition.
"He wore a simple dress, like mine," he said, flicking the hem of his knee-length shirt and pointing to his baggy pants, the traditional dress of Afghans. Slunb over bin Laden's shoulder was a Kalashnikov automatic rifle.
"He met with the commander of the camp, spent some time with the trainees and left," he said. Bin Laden embraced the head of the camp and went among the men shaking hands, embracing some.
"Everyone knew it was him," he said. "He didn't stay long, maybe two hours and then he was gone."
Bin Laden twice led men in battle in Azerbaijan, said Abu Daoud. Those trips were made after coming to Afghanistan from Sudan in May 1996, but he wouldn't give a specific date.
Abu Daoud's hideout was in a secret location reached by motorized rickshaw through a maze of dusty streets, shattered by rocket attacks from Afghanistan's years of war.
Inside the bare concrete room, a rolled-up Islamic prayer rug was propped on the wall and bedding was stacked in the corner. Abu Daoud and his visitor sat on a cushion.
He told of training new recruits for bin Laden's al-Qaida organization.
"I train them on how to fire mortars, and about mines, and how to use a Kalashnikov, some heavy guns and artillery and rocket launchers," he said.
Abu Daoud said graduates of the Afghan training camps return to their home countries to establish their own camps. He said two new camps were recently set up in Yemen by veterans of training in Afghanistan.
Bin Laden came to prominence fighting alongside the U.S.-supported Afghan 'mujahideen' in their war against Soviet troops in the 1980s. He then began campaigning against U.S. influence in Saudi Arabia.
The U.N. resolution imposing sanctions demands the Taliban turn over bin Laden to the United States or a third country for trial on terrorism charges before they are lifted.
The Taliban have refused. Two weeks ago bin Laden offered to leave for a secret destination known only to the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Abu Daoud said bin Laden has received an offer of sanctuary from another Islamic country, but he refused to say which.
As the guerrilla spoke of bin Laden, he pulled a poster from beneath a cushion. A dramatic bin Laden rose from the center of the poster while around him swirled his attackers in jet fighters.
Daoud said bin Laden's followers will defend him to the death.
"If he died I would kill myself," he said tucking the poster back beneath the pillow.