- GARDEZ, Afghanistan (Reuters)
- Afghan troops and U.S. bombers have attacked hundreds of die-hard al
Qaeda and Taliban fighters holed up in mountains in east Afghanistan, but
soldiers involved say the offensive has been beaten off.
The battle, the heaviest reported fighting in Afghanistan for weeks, was
taking place in Paktia province where the Pentagon says intelligence reports
show pockets of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and followers of deposed
Taliban leader Mullah Omar are seeking to regroup.
An Afghan soldier involved in the battle said al Qaeda and Taliban forces
drove back an initial advance on their position about 30 km (20 miles)
from Gardez, the capital of Paktia.
"The fighting was very fierce and we had to pull back," the soldier,
who did not want to give his name, told Reuters.
Residents said at least one Afghan soldier was killed as stubborn resistance
forced the troops to retreat towards Gardez.
The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) quoted Dr Safiullah, a Gardez
official, as saying two Afghan fighters had been killed and five wounded
in the battles. The casualty figures could be higher, he added.
There was no indication whether bin Laden and Mullah Omar, both of whom
Afghan officials say are still alive and on the run, were near the scene
of the latest fighting.
Gardez, about 150 km (95 miles) south of Kabul towards the Pakistan border,
is seen as a likely hideout for the two leaders.
HOLED UP
More than 500 Arabs and other al Qaeda fighters along with their families
are holed up in the area, AIP reported.
U.S. military spokesman Major A.C. Roper told a news briefing in the southern
city of Kandahar, the main base for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, that operations
were on-going, but he declined to give further details.
He also declined to comment on reports a large number of U.S. troops had
been moved from Kandahar air base to Bagram air base on the outskirts of
Kabul and much closer to Paktia.
"There has been heavy U.S. bombing since last night and it is still
going on today," Kamal Wazir, a spokesman for the province's key warlord
and former governor Padshah Khan Zadran, told Reuters on Saturday.
"We started a ground attack by 600 of our fighters on the area at
2 a.m. this morning (9 p.m. British time on Friday). There are 50 or 60
American advisers with us," Wazir said. "The Taliban and al Qaeda
men are fighting back by firing rockets and heavy weapons at us.
"The fighting is around the mountain village of Shahi Ko in Arma district."
HUNT ONGOING
Top Pentagon officials said on Friday the U.S. military had been watching
the area for a long period after deposing Afghanistan's Taliban leadership
and sending remnants of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda guerrillas, blamed for
the September 11 attacks on the United States, into hiding in the rugged
country.
"For some time now, coalition and Afghan forces have been conducting
operations in eastern Afghanistan to eliminate al Qaeda and Taliban groups
that have been identified in the area," Roper said.
"We are moving methodically to identify those al Qaeda and Taliban
to achieve that goal."
National Public Radio reported in the United States from Afghanistan this
week that U.S. special forces troops had begun training two 500-man forces
of Afghans to press a new hunt for Taliban and al Qaeda in the area's villages
and mountainsides.
Gardez was the scene of deadly clashes between rival militias last month.
Some 50 people were killed in the most serious fighting since the new interim
government took office last December.
U.S. bombing raids had mainly petered out following the war to oust the
Taliban and following claims that anti-Taliban fighters were killed in
some of the raids after rival factions misled the U.S. military.
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