US marines clashed with armed Taliban and al Qaeda fighters fleeing Kandahar today, engaging them with fire from the ground and helicopter gunships, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan said.
"We are blocking in some cases from the air, we are blocking in some cases with direct fire from the ground, and, yes, Taliban forces have been engaged as they have moved out of the city of Kandahar," said US Army General Tommy Franks.
General Franks said a large number of Taliban fighters had surrendered in Kandahar but others had left the city with their weapons, triggering fights with US Marines who engaged them with helicopter gunships and ground systems.
"In the last 24 hours they have been involved in several fights both ground-toground and air-to-ground," said Gen Franks, speaking to reporters from Tampa, Florida, the headquarters of the US Central Command.
Last night the marines destroyed a three-vehicle Taliban convoy that tried to run a roadblock and repelled what was described as an enemy probe of defenses at their Camp Rhino base south of Kandahar, marine officers told reporters.
The Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, was unaccounted for, fueling speculation he had escaped the city with his fighters.
"We simply don't know right now where Omar is," Gen Franks said, adding that he had not ruled out sending marines into Kandahar itself.
AFP