October 25, 2001	Thursday	Shaba'an 7, 1422

KARSHI (Uzbekistan), Oct 24: More than 2,000 US troops are stationed at an Uzbekistan military base near the border with Afghanistan preparing to go into battle against the Taliban, an Uzbek serviceman at the base said on Wednesday.

Soldiers from the elite 10th mountain division spend their days practising on a firing range while at night Chinook heavy-lift helicopters take off in the direction of Afghanistan, the Uzbek military source said.

The serviceman’s eyewitness account suggests the US army is building up substantial amounts of men and military hardware at the Khanabad base, some 45kms from the Afghan border, and that they are planning to stay for some time.

Previous estimates have put the number of US troops at Khanabad at about 1,000, while the Pentagon and the Uzbek government have insisted the base would not be used for combat operations against Afghanistan.

But the serviceman, who asked not to be identified for fear of being court-martialled, said reinforcements of between 10 and 20 US soldiers were being flown daily on board C-30 cargo aircraft.

“There are now more than 2,000 of them,” he said in an interview away from the base. “They have checkpoints all over the place ... They have claimed the base for themselves and cordoned it off.”

A tight security cordon has been thrown up around Khanabad since the first US troops arrived more than two weeks ago. Police turn journalists away before they can get within seven kilometres of the base.

According to the Uzbek serviceman, every night between two and three of the twin-rotor Chinook helicopters take off, sometimes escorted by an attack helicopter, and return three hours later.

He said he could not be sure whether they were carrying payloads or troops into Afghanistan.

“They don’t switch on their lights, so people can’t see what they are doing. It’s all secret. They swoop in low and land right on their section of the base with no lights on,” he said.—AFP