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Taliban chief's surprising opulence

By CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CNN) -- In a stunning setting in the foothills of Kandahar's mountains, Mullah Omar's compound offers a few surprises.

A bizarre sculpture sits in the driveway of the man who ordered the ancient Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed. None of the new occupants quite knows what it is.

"My gut feeling," laughs Abdul Jalil Mujahed, "is that it's for the deer to enjoy when they come down from the hills."

New Afghan interim leader Hamid Kharzai and his loyalists are now living in the Taliban leader's home.

They are wide-eyed as they give CNN a tour of the compound's marble and pastel-painted mosque.

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Inside, there are chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, mirrored walls and plush carpets. It's a level of showy opulence no one here imagined, from a man promoted as a humble cleric living in a simple mud-brick hut.

The large compound is luxurious by Afghan standards. It has been heavily bombed by the United States, but a survey from the roof shows that the mosque and Mullah Omar's bedrooms were unscathed

Anti-Taliban soldiers now pose for pictures with their weapons on Mullah Omar's double bed. Outside, walking through the rubble of the quarters for guests and cattle, it's apparent that every room had air conditioning -- including the cowsheds. Electric ceiling fans cooled the animals. And to drink, there's running water from taps.

Only 12 percent of all the people in Afghanistan have access to clean water.

"They built this all for the cows, while our people never had these things," says Saylab. "This was built with Osama's money ... with the blood of the Afghan people."

While most people make do with outhouses and holes in the ground, Mullah Omar had tiled bathrooms with shower fixtures and flushing toilets.

He is thought to have fled the comfort of his muraled walls shortly after the air war began. U.S. Special Forces are believed to have raided it for evidence early on.

The evidence found here suggests a leader who, in the name of God, demanded so much sacrifice from his people, but suffered none himself.