Thursday, 20 September, 2001, 15:26 GMT 16:26 UK

US rejects Bin Laden ruling The Taleban asked Osama Bin Laden to leave

The United States has dismissed as inadequate a ruling by Afghanistan's senior clerics that Osama Bin Laden should be asked to leave the country.

A statement by the White House said Bin Laden - the prime suspect in last week's attacks on New York and Washington - should be turned over to "responsible authorities".

The resolution on Bin Laden, agreed at a meeting in Kabul, appeared to represent a compromise.

It followed US demands for him to be handed over, and a statement by the ruling Taleban's spiritual leader that he would not be extradited.

But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the resolution was not enough to satisfy the Bush administration.

"It does not meet America's requirements," he told reporters. "This is about much more than one man being allowed to leave voluntarily, presumably from one safe harbour to another safe harbour.

"The president has demanded that key figures of the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation, including Osama Bin Laden, be turned over to responsible authorities and that the Taleban close terrorist camps in Afghanistan - and the United States stands behind those demands."

Holy war

The clerics also passed a resolution that called for a jihad, or holy war, in response to any US attack on Afghanistan.

The US, which has begun a major military build-up in the Gulf, has threatened to attack if the Taleban allow Bin Laden to remain in Afghanistan.

In other developments

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld orders more than 100 combat aircraft to start moving to the Gulf, within striking distance of Afghanistan

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is due in Washington following talks with German and French leaders on efforts to form an international coalition against terrorism

The 15 European Union nations agree tighter anti-terrorism laws, including faster extradition procedures

British Airways follow American Airlines and United Airlines in announcing big job cuts as the aviation crisis deepens

Pakistan faces growing protests by Islamic militants over Pakistan's support for US action against Osama Bin Laden and his Taleban protectors

Fifteen more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of the World Trade Center - the total confirmed dead is 233, the number of missing is 5,422

Religious leaders in Kabul had said the Taleban would be asked to persuade Bin Laden to leave Afghanistan at the proper time and of his own volition.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001