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Afghan Holdouts Routed: U.S., Allies Declare Victory in War's Biggest Battle
Thursday, March 14, 2002
By Peter Baker & Susan B. Glasser
The Washington Post

Less numerous, however, were indications of the staggering loss of life that U.S. officials say their enemies suffered. Along a ridge near the village of Shah-e-Kot, three bodies lay, but there was no evidence to confirm that 700 fighters had been killed, as the Pentagon has claimed. Gen. Zia, an Afghan commander, said only 150 to 200 bodies have been found.

SHAH-E-KOT, Afghanistan -- WP
U.S. and Afghan forces declared victory Wednesday in their campaign to cleanse this mountainous region of al-Qaida and Taliban forces, sweeping through the Shah-e-Kot Valley and effectively ending the biggest and deadliest battle of the war for American troops.

The 12-day-long offensive known as Operation Anaconda destroyed the two radical Islamic groups' last known fortified stronghold in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials reported the enemy death toll in the hundreds -- though the estimate could not be confirmed -- while eight Americans
and three Afghans were killed.

Although some officials cautioned that further fighting could lie ahead as coalition forces hunt for foes that may have escaped the battle, exuberant Afghan commanders said the operation amounted to the finale of a five-month war launched last fall in retaliation for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Hundreds of U.S. and Afghan troops Wednesday began packing up to leave.
(More: Twin Cities News Source)
2002 © The Washington Post.

Dan