November 28, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 12, 1422

WASHINGTON, Nov 27: More than 600 Marines are already on the ground in Afghanistan and their ranks are due to grow to about 1,000, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said the number of Marines is “getting closer to 1,000” as the deployment continues “over a two to three day period.”

According to Clarke, the Marines are based about 100 kilometres southwest of the Taliban strong-hold of Kandahar, with an airstrip the US has controlled since Sunday.

The Marines currently on the ground are not the beginnings of an occupying army, Clarke said.

“We don’t ‘own’ anything,” she said. “We have no desire to stay there more than necessary.”—AFP