WASHINGTON, Jan 7: The extent of resistance still being encountered by the US troops in Afghanistan from Al Qaeda or Taliban and pro-Taliban forces remains uncertain, but it is clear that it exists.

On Monday, the Pentagon daily briefing was told that while there was no major concentration of Al Qaeda and Taliban, their fighters were trying to regroup and coalition troops were trying to flush them out.

The question of resistance has come to the fore following the exchange of small arms fire last week in Paktia province in which one US serviceman was killed, the first American battlefield casualty in the Afghan operation so far. The Pentagon says the fire fight took place as a result of an ambush laid for the US soldiers who were working in concert with local tribes and who could have been “set up” to walk into a trap. But it was emphasized that full details of the incident were still not available.

The Pentagon also indicated that it would not publicly speculate about the whereabouts of Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders. The head of the interim Afghan administration, Hamid Karzai, has said only about 35 hard-core Taliban and Al Qaeda men remain at large, including Mulla Mohammad Omar and Osama bin Laden. On Sunday, two members of the Senate intelligence committee had said on talk shows that they believed Osama had escaped into Pakistan.