US bombs fell silent over Afghanistan yesterday for the first time since air strikes began on October 7th, as the war moved into a new phase in which US forces on the ground are attempting to track down fleeing al-Qaeda troops and their leaders.
With al-Qaeda forces routed in their last Afghan stronghold of Tora Bora, US officials said yesterday the task was now to find, capture or kill any who remain.
"It's going to be a difficult job," said Mr Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy US Defence Secretary. "Afghanistan is a country roughly the size of the state of Texas, and the terrain is much more hospitable to those who want to run and hide than to those who have the job of rooting them out."
He said such "half-defeated enemies" would "continue to pose considerable dangers and risks to our troops".
US forces were yesterday continuing to search the hundreds of caves in the Tora Bora region, many of which have been damaged by air strikes. "It's going to be step by step, cave by cave," said Gen Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The next US military steps will depend heavily on intelligence gathered from captured al-Qaeda and Taliban troops. The US yesterday took custody of 15 more individuals believed to be "fairly important" leaders, Mr Wolfowitz said.
In addition, FBI agents went to Kandahar to participate in interrogating prisoners.
US officials fear some of the al-Qaeda leadership, possibly including Osama bin Laden, has succeeded in crossing the border into Pakistan. Mr James Dobbins, US envoy to Afghanistan, yesterday said it was possible for al-Qaeda members to have crossed into Pakistan even though Pakistani authorities had sealed border passes.
Pakistani officials have strongly denied that al-Qaeda leaders could have crossed the border, and western officials acknowledged that security along the Afghan line had been recently intensified. Mr Dobbins said Pakistani officials had assured him they would intercept any members of Mr bin Laden's forces. "It's a mountainous range so I think the passes are sealed I don't think it's possible to prevent individuals from crossing the border," he said.
Mr Wolfowitz warned if bin Laden escaped to another country, any nation that harboured him would be in grave danger of attack.