US forces in Afghanistan have found more evidence that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network was seeking weapons of mass destruction, including one site with canisters believed to contain deadly chemicals, the Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, has said.
Tthe US however did not have hard evidence that al-Qaeda had actually acquired biological, chemical or nuclear weapons but the materials indicated they were seeking to use such deadly items, he said yesterday.
"In terms of having hard evidence of actual possession of weapons of mass destruction, I do not have that at this stage," Mr Rumsfeld told a Pentagon media briefing.
Canisters believed to contain chemicals were found and would be analysed, Mr Rumsfeld said. "Externally they appear to be weapons of mass destruction," he said, adding that he had seen pictures of the canisters.
The number of suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapon sites in Afghanistan was growing and US forces were now targeting more than 50, about 10 more than they had already inspected, Mr Rumsfeld said.
"The number of facilities keeps going up," he said. Tests on materials and information from those sites had not been fully completed.
"We have found a number of things that show an appetite for weapons of mass destruction - diagrams, materials, reports that things were asked for, things were discussed at meetings."
Meanwhile, the hunt for bin Laden and Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, continued.
The two men were still believed to be in Afghanistan, but while many reports came in citing locations for them, they all turned out to be wrong, Mr Rumsfeld said.
"We still believe they're in the country. We're still working on that basis, although we are looking some other places as well," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld has also been giving details of the arrival of US special forces in the Philippines, where they will assist Philippine troops in their fight against Muslim guerrillas linked to Osama bin Laden.
This represents a significant expansion of the US war on terrorism. Although the deployment is a training exercise, the US troops will accompany front-line Filipino forces on patrols in guerrilla-threatened areas in the southern Philippines.
Approximately 650 US soldiers, including 160 Special Forces, will take part in the exercise, US defence officials have said. "It is not a modest number, it's several hundred plus," Mr Rumsfeld said in an interview with radio journalists.
Even as Pentagon officials say the focus of the war will remain on Afghanistan, the dispatch of several hundred US troops to the Philippines underscores the Bush administration's intention to wage its fight against terrorism on a global scale.
Having put aside such targets as Iraq, at least for now, the administration is working with friendly governments such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore that are seeking help in rooting out terrorist groups. It is also looking to such countries as Indonesia, Yemen and Somalia, where al-Qaeda cells are believed to be located.
The US forces moving to the Philippines will help the Philippine army in the fight against Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that Washington says is linked to bin Laden.
Over the next 30 days, about 150 US troops will arrive in the Philippines and begin accompanying Filipino forces on patrols on Basilan, a rugged, jungle-clad island that is a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf.
The president of the Philippines, Ms Gloria Arroyo, yesterday defended the deployment of US forces,saying it was within the bounds of the 1987 constitution and American soldiers would only be acting as advisers. - (Reuters, AP)