BAGRAM AIR BASE, March 13: US and Afghan troops claimed on Wednesday they had overrun the cave complex in eastern Afghanistan where Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters had held out for nearly two weeks, and were now chasing the remains of the guerilla force.
“It’s a great success,” a US military spokesman said while talking to reporters at Bagram, control point for “Operation Anaconda”, on the outskirts of Kabul. “Probably the next objective is to make sure that everything is secure.”
“It is a 60 square mile (155 square km) area. We have seized the majority and have control of the majority of the (Shahi Kot) valley,” he said.
“There are less than 100 (Taliban-Al Qaeda) left.”
For the first time, US and Afghan forces were entering caves still protected by landmines and booby traps searching for documents and weapons left by the guerillas.
Mountains in the area soar up to 3,600 metres and are dotted with deep, hidden caves.
On Tuesday, Afghan General Abdul Joyenda claimed the allied troops had overrun the Shahi Kot fighters, sending them escaping toward the border with Pakistan and effectively ending the biggest battle of the Afghan war.
The spokesman, however, said there was still work to be done in the Shahi Kot area and the war in Afghanistan was not over, with other rebel pockets elsewhere in the country to be rooted out.
“I hope this is the last one but I’m not making any plans (to go home),” he said.
The US military said eight US troops and three other coalition troops were killed and nearly 100 wounded in the 12-day operation.
An Afghan intelligence official in Gardez said there were “gaping holes” through which the rebels could flee in the direction of Urgun, a district less than 50kms from the border with Pakistan.
“There is no control over that frontier,” said the official. “It is a very inaccessible route with rugged mountains and deep valleys.”
“Our mission is to kill or capture Al Qaeda, they are welcome to surrender, but so far they have decided to die,” the US spokesman said. “Anaconda is on plan, on track. It has been an incredible success.”
He said there were non-Afghans among about 800 rebels killed during the battle.
Afghan commanders have said the dead included Chechens, Pakistanis and Arabs, who are believed to form the core of the Al Qaeda network.
“There are fewer than 20 detainees. They’re being interrogated and we assume they are all Al Qaeda,” the official said.—Reuters
