KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. warplanes repeatedly bombed this al Qaeda complex of training camps and tunnels, but some mud-brick bunkers are still stocked with rockets and other ammunition.

Next to a pair of intact bunkers, a big rectangular sign set in white stone declares in Arabic: "We Want to Show the Flag of Islam All Over the World."

Hundreds of thick metal, razor-sharp fragments from U.S. bombs are scattered all over the Darunta complex, alongside unexploded baseball-sized bomblets nestled in the earth.

Two children died from shockwaves generated by three big American bombs which hit the Darunta complex before dawn on Friday (Nov. 23), according to angry villagers whose homes are a short walk from three deep craters.

This former al Qaeda complex, believed to have been financed by suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and others, is now occupied by anti-Taliban forces.

They perch atop a rocky peak overlooking the complex's three bombed camps, ready to kill anyone who trespasses without their permission.

The complex's new owners belong to the Eastern Alliance, headquartered in Jalalabad.

They now control eastern Afghanistan's provinces of Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar and Nuristan.

The Darunta military complex is about 12 kilometers (seven miles) west of Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, next to a hydro-electric dam which blocks Darunta Lake.

Two of Darunta's three camps were obliterated entirely by U.S. bombardments which began in October.

But at one camp, at least two outhouse-sized brick bunkers still contain dozens of rockets of various caliber which survived all attempts to destroy them from the air.

The ammunition sheds are near two 10-foot-by-10-foot bunkers which command a panoramic view of the river feeding Darunta Lake and the surrounding fertile flatlands.

The scenic sweep includes bleak tan mountains on either side of Darunta and its valley.

The twin bunkers' rectangular slits are positioned westward so their occupants can have a direct line of fire down onto a nearby bend in the highway linking the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the Khyber Pass into Pakistan.

The bunkers, however, were ravaged by looters.

Three dirty, red wool carpets, a teapot and some other items lay in front of one bunker, waiting for their new owner to cart the stuff away.

Inside one of the bunkers, Arabic script written on the green walls near the ceiling invoked Islamic prayers.

Rocket Shell Roofs

The roofs of the twin bunkers were made of hard-packed tan mud edged on all four sides with big spent shells from rockets.

The rocket shells were neatly lined up to give the roofs maximum strength. But they also presented a surreal architectural touch, as if instead of Mediterranean tiles the owners chose big metal tubes for their circular design.

The twin bunkers may have avoided a direct hit because they are sheltered by several trees which provide shade amid the desolation.

Next to the bunkers, huge craters scarred a slope down from the camp toward Darunta Lake.

The Darunta complex is actually three separate training camps set atop three hills just southwest of the dam.

To reach the camps, al Qaeda vehicles had to veer off the main Kabul-Khyber Pass highway and cross a dirt road in front of the dam.

Above them, a hilltop Taliban position guarded the entrance to all three camps.

U.S. officials reportedly identified two of the camps within the Darunta complex as part of a network run by Assadalah Abdul Rahman and Abu Khabab.

Some U.S. officials insisted "dead dogs" had been photographed at the Abu Khabab camp, amid claims that al Qaeda tested "chemical weapons" on the leashed beasts.

Another camp at Darunta was reportedly run by Hezb-i-Islami.

They apparently used the site where the surviving twin bunkers and rocket-packed sheds remain.

They want to seize Hindu-majority India's sector of Kashmir, which is populated mostly by Muslims, and attach it to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Today, in addition to anti-Taliban forces, the only people around these former al Qaeda camps are civilians.

U.S. bombs, however, occasionally slam into the Darunta complex.

Bombing Dirt, Not Osama

"Before dawn on Friday (Nov. 23), three U.S. bombs hit nothing, just dirt and a mountain, but two children died from the shock," a villager named My Han said in an interview at the rim of one of three craters.

"Two boys, Aymal and Ajmal, aged eight and three, were killed in their house. Many of the people of Darunta village went to Laghman for the funeral and for prayers," Mr. Han said.

The three U.S. bombs appeared to have hit the base of a rocky cliff, west of the Assadalah Abdul Rahman camp.

Behind the row of bomb craters, a small landslide covered most of a cave's entrance - perhaps one of several tunnel openings buried by the three bombs.

Enough space peeked through the top of the rock pile, however, to offer an entrance into the remaining cave, if a person wanted to try and climb inside.

U.S. satellite photographs of the Darunta complex show the area riddled with "tunnel entrances," according to U.S. officials.

"Osama is not here, so why do the Americans keep bombing here?" said Jalil Khan, an Eastern Alliance guard who was amused by the repeated efforts of U.S. warplanes to destroy the complex.

"America should stop fighting and help bring peace instead. Osama is probably in Kandahar or another place.

"Actually I have no information where he is, but for sure Osama, the Taliban and al Qaeda are no longer in these mountains."

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Richard S. Ehrlich has a Master's Degree in Journalism from Columbia University, and is the co-author of the classic book of epistolary history, "HELLO MY BIG BIG HONEY!" -- Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews.

His web page is located at http://www.oocities.org/asia_correspondent and he may be reached by email: animists *at* yahoo dot com