US: US military says escape routes are blocked in eastern Afghanistan, Elaine Lafferty reports from New York
With Afghan troop reinforcements arriving in the area, fierce fighting is continuing in the snow-capped mountains of eastern Afghanistan as the largest US-led ground operation of the five month old war moves forward.
Gen Tommy Franks, commander of US Central Command, estimated that 100 to 200 enemy fighters had been killed in the operation called "Anaconda" and a small number taken prisoner. He said they included al-Qaeda fighters, Taliban militia and Chechen and Uzbek fighters. There were reports that US soldiers and Afghan allies were within 100 metres of several al-Qaeda bunkers.
An Afghan commander on the ground at Gardez, speaking to an Associated Press reporter, put the number of detainees at 60, all of them Chechens.
Gen Franks said the offensive had as its objective a 60-square-mile area south of Gardez. Air support included A-10 ground attack planes, F-15 fighter jets, B-1 and B-52 bombers, AC-130 gunships, as well as some French jets.
The plan was for US troops to take up blocking positions to prevent Taliban and al-Qaeda from escaping, with Afghan forces leading the fighting, a US military official said.
He said he did not know how much the actual combat has strayed from the planning, but confirmed that soldiers were blocking escape routes.
Afghan and US officials said the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters were likely armed with shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles such as Russian SA-7s and possibly American Stingers - as well as mortars, grenades and canons.
About 60 Afghan fighters wearing US-issued parkas, their heads wrapped in turbans, were heading to Shah-e-Kot yesterday from Jaji, north-east of the provincial capital, Gardez. Bright orange strips were affixed to the top of the transport trucks to identify them to the allied bombers and helicopters roaring overhead.
Gen Franks said units of the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division had been sent into the battle area. Allied forces from a half-dozen countries including France, Germany and Norway were also taking part, bringing the coalition numbers up to about 2,000.
The commander described the ground operation as a series of short, often intense clashes with small numbers of fugitives fought in bitter cold at elevations of 8,000 to 12,000 feet.
The ground attack, which began on Friday, had been on hold for nearly 24 hours to allow US bombing of the al-Qaeda hideouts by B-52s and F-16 jets, and strafing by attack helicopters.
The Taliban and al-Qaeda have mounted a stiff resistance, repelling the first offensive on Saturday and sending the US-led forces back to Gardez, more than 30 km from the frontline to regroup.
Eight US soldiers were killed in the operation, including six who died when a Chinook helicopter was shot down on Monday. Afghan government casualties were estimated at seven dead and 20 wounded.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said more than 1,000 US personnel, including special operations troops, members of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions, were used in the attack.
President Bush mourned the US casualties in the operation, but vowed to pursue his global war on terrorism, launched after the September 11th attacks on the US.
AFP reports from Ramstein:
The bodies of the seven US soldiers killed in eastern Afghanistan arrived at the Ramstein US air base in western Germany yesterday.
A joint honour guard including US air force, army and navy soldiers held a fallen soldier ceremony at Ramstein for the troops, said the spokeswoman, Ms Elizabeth Ortiz. The transport plane carrying the bodies arrived from the Incirlik air base in Turkey, she added. A separate plane was expected to leave last night to take them to the Dover US air force base in Delaware. - (Additional reporting from news agencies)