November 28, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 12, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: The United States has dropped 500 marines south of Kandahar and 500 more are likely to be deployed within a day or two, a spokesman for coalition forces said on Wednesday.

These 1,000 troops would be in addition to small groups of special forces searching for Osama bin Laden, Ambassador Kenton Keith told the daily briefing.

The spokesman refused to comment on the questions about the nature of the mission of those forces. He said the marines had wide-ranging capabilities to carry out operations of different nature.

He confirmed reports that some stray bombs had hit Pakistan territory and offered regrets. “We regret that some bombs did fall inside Pakistani border.”

On the Kandahar situation, he said the fighting was not over yet and some Taliban were still holding out.

In reply to a question when the military objectives would be achieved, he said once the Taliban were finished as a force, Al Qaeda network was eliminated, and Osama was brought to justice.

Asked what would be the fate of Osama as and when he was arrested, he said, “we will bring him to justice.”

Regarding the non-Afghan Taliban fighters, he said they would be arrested, disarmed and detained by the Northern Alliance and there fate would be decided by them on a case-to-case basis.

However, he added, they would expect th Northern Alliance to give the “Taliban” a humane treatment.

Commenting on the Bonn conference, he said: “Today is a historic day for the people of Afghanistan.”

Today, he added, the delegates were gathering in Bonn under the auspices of the United Nations for the most important political conference on the future of Afghanistan in many years.

He said that representatives of former king Zahir Shah, the United Front, the Cyprus process and the Peshawar process were participating in the Bonn conference.

“The rich ethnic tapestry of Afghanistan will be there,” he said, brushing aside reports that Pakhtoons were not getting adequate representation in the Bonn conference.