The United States has informed the United Nations Security Council it could take "further actions" against other organisations and countries besides the Taliban and Afghanistan.
In a letter to the current president of the council, Ireland's UN Ambassador, Mr Richard Ryan, America's UN envoy, Mr John Negroponte said his country was still looking into who was behind the September 11th attacks in New York and Washington. "There is still much we do no know. Our inquiry is in its early stages," the Ambassador said.
"We may find that our self-defence requires further actions with respect to other organisations and other states," he said.
However the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, appeared to contradict the US statement when he told reporters after an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg: "There are always statements coming out of Washington. Washington is a very large place, but this military action, this military coalition is about action in respect of military and terrorist targets in Afghanistan."
The US and Britain were expected to brief a private meeting of the security council late last night on the assault in Afghanistan. The meeting was convened at their request, following consultations with the Irish presidency and was attended by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan.
In a press statement afterwards, Mr Ryan said the US and UK ambassadors had made clear that military action "was taken in self-defence and directed at terrorists and those who harboured them". They had "stressed that every effort was being made to avoid civilian causalities". Mr Ryan said the Council was "appreciative" of their presentations.
He added that the Council was "deeply concerned" at the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. It had welcomed the appointment of Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi as the Secretary-General's special Representative for Afghanistan.
The Secretary-Gerneral noted in a statement that the Security Council had previously "reaffirmed the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence in accordance with the Charter of United Nations". He said that "to defeat terrorism, we need a sustained effort and a broad strategy that unites all nations and addresses all aspects of the scourge we face".
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Mrs Mary Robinson, told a conference in Dubrovnik: "This military action, as well as any new eventual action, must be conducted very carefully in order to avoid civilian casualties."
The UN General Assembly yesterday elected Syria, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Guinea and Mexico as new non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning next January. They replace five outgoing members: Bangladesh, Jamaica, Mali, Tunisia and Ukraine.
The US said the election result would not mute its criticism of Syria, which it continues to designate a state sponsor of terrorism.