LONDON, Oct 22: A contingent of Britain’s special forces is very close to Afghanistan to join the Americans in more covert raids on the Taliban and Al-Qaida, the British defence secretary said here on Monday.

He said the ground troops were ready to go into Afghanistan at a “very short notice”, although he stressed that no decision had yet been taken to deploy them.

Defence sources said the United States had formally requested as many members of the British special forces, SAS, as could be made available for what was now expected to be an intensive month of ground operations before winter set in.

Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, admitted on Sunday that it would be in the best interest of America and its coalition partners to see the military action in Afghanistan” resolved” before winter set in.

With more raids expected imminently, the specially trained SAS regiment is likely to play an important role. The British defence sources say that about 400 SAS troops are already in the area or poised to go into action.

The sources say that the raid by about 100 US Rangers and units of the US army’s secret Delta Force on Friday night and Saturday morning had provided “a showcase example “ of what the Taliban should now expect in the next few weeks.

The objectives were relatively limited, one source said, but the impact on the Taliban would have been far greater in terms of psychology and shock value.