ISLAMABAD, Dec 21: Spokesman for international coalition Kenton Keith said on Friday that around 7,000 fighters of Taliban militia and Al-Qaeda members had been arrested in Afghanistan.

“Screening of these detained people is being carried out to ascertain what their role had been and if they have committed the kinds of crimes that make them of interest to members of the coalition,” he said at the regular briefing.

The spokesman said there were several categories of these people as some could be late joiners or some could be only sympathisers caught up in the process or some could have blood on their hands.

Screening the prisoners to determine the various categories of guilt and involvement was a difficult and intensive process but would be done diligently and with care, he said.

Mr Keith said at this stage it was very difficult to differentiate that how many were members of Al-Qaeda network or Taliban militia. He also declined to specify the place where these people had been detained.

To a question whether those interrogated by coalition forces had given any indication about the location of Osama bin Laden or Mulla Omar, he said he had no specific information whether they had shed any light on the whereabouts of these two leaders.

The spokesman said that an international security assistance force, comprising around 3,000 to 5,000 personnel, would be deployed in Kabul by next week. He pointed out that a small group of British force had already landed in Kabul for providing security during the investiture ceremony of the interim government.

As regard orders issued by President Bush banning two Pakistan-based organizations, he said it was an action taken unilaterally by the United States.

He said with the order of blocking assets of Jaish Muhammad and Ummah Tameer-i-Nau, the total number of organizations and individuals whose assets had been banned had risen to 158.

To a question about the involvement of US forces in search operation for Osama bin Laden and Mulla Omar inside Pakistan, the spokesman said search in borders areas was being carried out jointly but not inside Pakistan.

He remarked that Pakistan had been doing excellent job, showing a clear commitment.

To a question whether Osama bin Laden was still in Afghanistan, he said they had no credible information that he had left Afghanistan.

When asked whether any proposal was under consideration to compensate those who had suffered losses in the war against terrorism, he said the coalition was committing billions of dollars in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.