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More U.S. Troops Join Fierce Afghan Fight
Thursday, March 7, 2002
By Kathy Gannon
Associated Press Writer

“There are 5,000 soldiers collecting in Shah-e-Kot for a final offensive on the al-Qaida to finish them off,” said Ismail Khan, a commander who brought in men from his base in Jaji, northeast of Paktia's capital, Gardez. “It will be the final push.”

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- AP
Fierce fighting raged for a fifth day as the United States deployed hundreds of reinforcements Wednesday and gathered 5,000 Afghan troops for an offensive aimed at finishing off al-Qaida.

The U.S.-led coalition mounted punishing, round-the-clock air strikes above the rugged terrain in eastern Afghanistan, and some U.S. officers predicted the operation could be wrapped up in days.

In Kabul, five soldiers -- two Germans and three Danes -- were killed in an explosion while trying to defuse anti-aircraft missiles.

The Pentagon said opposition fighters were still putting up stiff resistance after five days of battle, some of it above 10,000 feet in snow-covered mountains. As fighter jets and bombers hit targets, more attack helicopters were called in to boost the firepower in the largest U.S.-led offensive of the five-month-old war.

Afghan soldiers urged residents of the region in Paktia province to turn in al-Qaida warriors, offering a $4,000 reward for each foreign fighter captured alive.

The commander of the operation, code-named Operation Anaconda, said U.S.-led troops had the upper hand after killing hundreds of fighters -- about half the al-Qaida members in the hills around Shah-e-Kot. U.S. troops were searching their cave hideouts.

“We own the dominant terrain in the area,” Maj. Gen. Frank L. Hagenbeck told reporters Wednesday at Bagram air base north of the capital, Kabul. “We truly have the momentum at this point.”

Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. commander in the war in Afghanistan, said he has increased the number of Americans in the operation by 200 to 300 over the last two days, for a total of about 1,100.

“I think the days ahead are going to continue to be dangerous days for our forces,” he said in Washington. “But the alternative to taking such a risk is not acceptable.”

* Battle rages on
* U.S. case against Iraq
* Attack details sketchy
(More: The Chicago Sun-Times News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

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