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U.S. Special Forces Kill 15 In Raid On Suspected Al-Qaeda, Taliban Compound
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| "We are going to pursue them...and we are going to keep at them until we get them," Rumsfeld said. |
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - At least 15 Al-Qaeda and Taliban members were killed and 27 others captured Thursday in a U.S. special forces raid on a compound in southern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.
One American was wounded in the ankle.
The pre-dawn firefight in Afghanistan highlighted that pockets of resistance remain after the U.S.-led rout of Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda group and the Taliban government. Pentagon officials said diehard supporters of both groups are fighting on in a number of places in Afghanistan.
"We are going to pursue them...and we are going to keep at them until we get them," said Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. "We're doing it systematically and I think you can expect that it will continue for some period of time."
The firefight erupted when U.S. forces struck what they said was Al-Qaeda and Taliban "leadership facility" about 60 miles north of Kandahar, Pentagon officials said in Washington.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said an AC-130 gunship destroyed a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
"We initially thought it was Al-Qaeda leadership, but once it was raided we found it was mainly Taliban leadership" in the compound, Myers said. "This would never be described as a walk in the park, any firefight is intense."
The general said intelligence information before the raid indicated that Al-Qaeda leadership might have used the two compounds but that Taliban leaders, instead, had apparently used them.
Myers added there was no immediate indication that Taliban leaders, such as fugitive supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been killed or captured.
Myers and Rumsfeld declined to say how many enemy fighters were killed or provide many details on the operation.
The U.S. soldier, who was not identified, was hit in the ankle by enemy fire Wednesday afternoon during the clash, said Navy Cmdr. Dan Keesee, a Central Command spokesman in Tampa, Florida. He was evacuated to a medical facility in the area and is in stable condition.
In Kandahar, a statement by the U.S. command said the soldier was wounded while "conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.''
The injury was the first U.S. battlefield casualty in Afghanistan since Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Chapman was killed Jan. 4.
The Taliban have been driven from power U.S. forces are hunting bin Laden, accused by Washington of masterminding the September attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.
Pentagon spokeswoman, Victoria Clarke, refused to comment on Thursday's operation.
"We have had activities going on in several different parts of the country," she told reporters. "We are continuing to look for the bad guys ... but I don't have more information for you right now."
The U.S. military's bombing campaign has come to a virtual halt in Afghanistan over the past two weeks, although American warplanes continue to fly the skies over that war-shattered country looking for "targets of opportunity" on the ground.
Rumsfeld and other Pentagon officials have also said in recent weeks that the focus of the U.S. military campaign has shifted to ground operations to root Al-Qaeda and Taliban out of hiding places and searching caves and tunnels for intelligence information in the U.S. war on terrorism.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Kandahar, local governor, Gul Agha, accused Iran of sending vehicles and weapons into Afghanistan to undermine Karzai's government. Iran is allied with warlord Ismail Khan, a longtime foe of the ethnic Pashtuns who rule Kandahar.
Agha denied claims that he has sent fighters toward Herat, Khan's stronghold, in western Afghanistan.
"We know the Iranian government is sending in vehicles and weapons against Afghanistan," Agha told a pro-democracy rally attended by about 5,000 people. "We haven't sent any militias against them. We are waiting for the interim government of Prime Minister Karzai. I have been in contact with him. Whatever he says, I will do."
The United States has warned Iran not to meddle in Afghanistan, citing reports that Tehran has sent pro-Iranian fighters and money into the country that would destabilize the U.S.-backed central government in Kabul that is still struggling to find its feet after a month in power.
Iran, Pakistan and Russia have long tried to influence events in their volatile neighbor. Tehran was particularly hostile to the former ruling Taliban, which was founded in Kandahar and imposed a regime that trampled on Shia Muslims supported by Tehran.
Fighters and commanders training in Kandahar with a newly created national army said that 2,000 to 2,500 fighters had been sent toward Herat in recent days, ostensibly to fight remnants of bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
U.S. special forces and their Afghan allies were in Helmand province, between Kandahar and Herat, three days ago conducting house-to-house searches for Mullah Omar. No trace of him was found.
Eastern Afghanistan, near Khost, is a thicket of factional feuding and formerly a major Al-Qaeda training center. Fighters loyal to rival warlords jockeying to become governor had been reported Wednesday to be vying for control of military and administration installations.
Saleh Mohammed Registani, chief of foreign relations for the Defense Ministry, said Thursday in Kabul that Khost was calm and that warlords Zakim Khan and Bacha Khan Zadran were in the capital, presumably seeking mediation.
U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, was in Pakistan Thursday and will be traveling to Afghanistan and Iran.
In addition to touching base with U.N. aid officials struggling to help rebuild the shattered country, Annan will urge neighboring countries to support the Karzai government and not encourage regional warlords.
At the U.S. military base at Kandahar airport, the biggest concentration of U.S. forces in the country, the army said three U.S. soldiers were injured when their Humvee overturned during a routine patrol.
Two of the injured were treated and returned to duty after the Wednesday night mishap, but the third was evacuated to Oman for further treatment, Capt. Carl Purvis said.
Names of the three were not released, and the army would not provide details about the patrol. The injured soldiers were from Delta Company, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, the army said.
The army's 101st Airborne Division is taking over the base from the Marines, who secured it after the Taliban were ousted. More than 1,200 troops from the 101st have deployed, while the Marines are down to 700 from a high of 1,800.
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