Omar faces showdown

US marines have been scouring former al-Qaeda bases

Afghan forces are reported to be closing in on fugitive Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Up to 2,000 fighters are heading for a village near the town of Baghran, 100 miles (160 km) northwest of the regime's former stronghold of Kandahar, according to Afghan officials.

The move came as a contingent of French troops arrived in Afghanistan as part of a planned peacekeeping force.

Die-hard Taleban fighters are thought to be protecting Mullah Omar, but Afghanistan officials said they hoped to capture him without bloodshed.

A spokesman for intelligence chief Haji Gullalai, said: "We are still in contact with the people there to find a way to end this issue peacefully."

Mullah Omar eluded capture when the Taleban's former stronghold of Kandahar fell to opposition forces last month following an intensive bombing campaign by the US.

Troops pave way

US Marines early on Wednesday scoured a compound in the mountains north of Kandahar, thought to have been used by al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters.

Afghan forces are vying to capture Mullah Omar

Officials said the operation was to get information that could be used against Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network or Taleban forces.

US troops are still searching for Bin Laden, who is believed to be in eastern Afghanistan or across the border in Pakistan.

The US has blamed Bin Laden for the 11 September attacks in the US in which more than 3,000 people were killed.

A contingent of French troops - who will be under British command - arrived in Kabul from Dushanbe, the capital of neighbouring Tajikistan, on Wednesday.

The peacekeeping force is expected to patrol Kabul alongside Afghan counterparts.

Role unclear

Between 20 and 30 senior officers from 17 countries also arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to prepare for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), whose deployment was agreed at a UN sponsored conference in Bonn last month.

Mullah Omar: Evaded capture

The force is to be led by British Major General John McColl for at least three months, and its initial task is to assist in maintaining security in Kabul.

But the BBC's Ian MacWilliam in Kabul says it is still unclear what the exact role of the force will be.

Particular uncertainty persists over whether military groups in the capital are to be disarmed in accordance with the Bonn agreement. Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah has told the BBC some Northern Alliance forces would remain in the capital but confined to their barracks, while Afghan police units would continue to be involved in security matters.

He also said it was far too early to say whether the force might be deployed beyond Kabul.