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KABUL, Jan 29: Hundreds of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda fighters are regrouping in remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan, a local commander said on Tuesday.
Up to 1,200 al-Qaeda fanatics have gathered in mountains near the village of Zurmat, said local Afghan military chief Padsha Khan, incoming governor of Paktia province and a powerful Mujahideen commander.
Khan said he was readying some 6,000 fighters to root them out of the area, south of the Tora Bora mountains where US warplanes and ground forces waged an intense campaign against Al Qaeda cave positions last month.
“We are not sure of how many there are or of their exact location,” Khan said at his headquarters in Tumoni, about 30 kilometres west of the main Paktia city of Gardez.
Some local sources had reported around 800 fighters in the mountains, and others 1,200, he said, adding that he was trying to gather intelligence to pass to US military commanders.
“The United States will decide if it will bomb the village or not,” he said. “The US special forces may join in the attack.”
PENTAGON: The Pentagon said on Tuesday it could not confirm the reports, but noted that the network remains a threat.
“The war is absolutely not over,” Pentagon spokesman David Lapan said.
Lapan said US troops were monitoring pockets of resistance from the groups and would act against them if appropriate.
“When we think we have solid information to act on then we’ll take action,” he said.
CRACKDOWN: The Kabul police on Tuesday launched a wide security sweep of the capital, seizing illegal weapons and ordering drivers to remove tinted film from the windows of their vehicles.
Authorities set up road blocks throughout the city, searching vehicles for guns and other weapons and bringing traffic to a standstill in some parts.
A statement broadcast by Afghan Radio said all firearm owners had to declare their weapons and get permission to carry them.
Besides weapons, tinted windows are also commonplace often merely to give the occupants privacy, but now considered a means to transport weapons beyond the gaze of the authorities.
Security in Kabul, which deteriorated late last year after the Taliban were swept from power, is slowly being restored.
A nightly curfew, imposed for over two decades, effectively means the streets are deserted after dark, while petty crime is generally carried out by only the young or truly destitute.
Under the terms of the Bonn agreement, which installed Afghanistan’s interim administration, only police officers are allowed to have weapons on the capital’s streets.
A United Nations-mandated International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), made up of over 4,000 foreign troops drawn from 17 countries, regularly patrols the capital, adding to security.—AFP/ Reuters
