August 8, 2002	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28,1423

TAMPA, Aug 7: Two computers are missing from the Florida headquarters of the US Central Command, which is running the military operation against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

“I can confirm two computers are missing. An investigation is under way,” said Lt. Col. Martin Compton of Central Command, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

Compton would not say what the Central Command computers were used for or how long they had been missing.

The disclosure came two days after a US government report said the FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Service and three other US Justice Department law enforcement agencies had at least 775 weapons and 400 laptop computers stolen, lost or missing over a recent two-year period.

Central Command is responsible for US military operations in most of the Middle East and nearby areas. It uses units from all the US military services.

Several US allies that have sent forces to Afghanistan have representatives at Central Command headquarters, including Britain, Canada and Australia.—Reuters