American soldiers cover a body of an Al-Qaeda or Taliban fighter who was killed during Operation Anaconda

BAGRAM AIR BASE, March 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - More offensives as large as Operation Anaconda could be launched in Afghanistan against Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, U.S. General Tommy Franks said here on Monday.

"I believe that future operations may well be the size of Anaconda," he told reporters when asked about operations against remaining Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"If you look back over the past six months you will see that there have been a great variety of fights conducted inside Afghanistan by these coalition forces which we call Operation Enduring Freedom," he said.

Frank's comments came just after he told troops here that Operation Anaconda against Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in eastern Paktia province would be "completed within 12 hours".

The Anaconda offensive in the Shah-i-Kot valley and Arma mountains of Paktia was the biggest ground operation launched by coalition forces since the start of the war in Afghanistan on October 7 against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.

The general, who oversees military operations in Afghanistan, said it was possible there were other concentrations of Al-Qaeda fighters such as those routed during a major offensive last week in Shah-i-Kot valley.

"Does the possibility exist for another group of foreign fighters inside Afghanistan such as we found in the Shah-i-Kot area? Yes, I believe it's possible for fighters to group in various places," he said.

"I think that is why we have to be careful to say this is not over. One should suspect the operations will continue because, yes, there's a possibility for some forces to maybe regroup and perhaps enemy forces we've not yet found the location of," he said.

The general said not many had escaped to neighboring Pakistan but would not give a figure for the number of Al-Qaeda remaining in Afghanistan. "We will continue to hunt down the members of these cells that remain in Afghanistan," he said, hailing Anaconda as an "unqualified success".

"What I have seen leads me to believe this operation was an unqualified and absolute success, not only from all the American and coalition forces involved but also from all the Afghans involved," he said.

More than 2,000 U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan allies took part in the operation, named after the snake which encircles and crushes its prey.

Eight U.S. servicemen have died and 49 have been wounded during Anaconda, the highest U.S. toll since the military campaign began in Afghanistan on October 7. Three allied Afghans have also been killed.

U.S. officials estimate 500 fighters have been killed during the offensive in the Shah-i-Kot valley and Arma mountains, south of Gardez. But local Afghan commanders have suggested many of the guerrillas may have escaped into Pakistan, reported BBC’s online news service.

The most intense fighting in Operation Anaconda ended Wednesday, March 13. Since then, about 500 Canadian and U.S. soldiers have been working with allied Afghan fighters to search the caves in the mountains near the city of Gardez, about 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Kabul, to flush out any remaining fighters, the BBC said. 

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