AFGHANISTAN: Afghan fighters massed near the country's eastern mountains yesterday, rumbling up the desolate peaks in tanks and trucks before a sweeping push to clear out al-Qaeda gunmen hiding out in a warren of caves.
The US resumed steady bombing runs over the area after nightfall. The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, described the fighting as a "mopping up" operation after more than a week of heavy bombing and ground combat.
The Afghan commander Mohammed Ismail Khan estimated that three-quarters of the enemy force had been destroyed.
The US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in front of the Pentagon, said Operation Anaconda in Paktia province would continue "until it's completed". Mr Rumsfeld said "a great many al-Qaeda" members had been killed and "several prisoners" taken. "As the mopping up process continues, additional information will be gained," he added.
Mr Rumsfeld said he hopes US-led forces will finish clearing Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters from their mountain stronghold south of Gardez this week.
"One would hope so," he told reporters in response to a question after a picture-taking session with military representatives from the 29 countries that have joined the US in its war on terrorism.
He said there were still al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the area around the Shahi Kot valley that "need to surrender or [be] dealt with, and that work is going forward".
Several al-Qaeda fighters have been captured and will be interrogated, he said. "We do know there are a great many al-Qaeda that have been killed. We do not have names and ranks and serial numbers," he said. More than 800 US troops were still taking part in Operation Anaconda, which began on March 2nd, along with an equal number of Afghan and coalition troops, he said.
"Some people may leave and others will go in. But it will continue until its completed," he said.
A convoy of at least 12 tanks and about 1,000 Afghan soldiers moved toward the front line yesterday to reinforce hundreds of US troops believed still in the Shah-e-Kot mountains as part of the largest offensive yet in the Afghan war. US special forces were seen operating at the base of the mountains.
The leader of Afghanistan's interim government, Mr Hamid Karzai, had ordered fresh troops to the region, which he called the "last main base" of al-Qaeda and Taliban .