<

British Forces Find Afghanistan Arms Cache
Friday, June 7, 2002
(23:38 BST)
By Sanjeev Miglani
Reuters

Coalition forces have mounted several operations in the east and south of the country in recent weeks to hunt down the militants, but have come up virtually empty-handed. But King and other military officials called the latest mission a success.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- Reuters
U.S. and British forces have found a cache of weapons and explosives in a raid on a suspected al Qaeda compound in a tiny farming village and took five people into custody, military officials have said.

U.S. special forces and British Royal Marines swooped down on Alatay village in southern Afghanistan in a pre-dawn raid on Thursday and detained 17 people without firing a shot.

All but five men, thought to have "intelligence value" were later released," coalition spokesman Colonel Roger King told reporters, adding: "It's too early to tell whether they are al Qaeda."

But he said the operation was based "on clear and unambiguous intelligence that the village was being used by the al Qaeda."

Assault rifles, explosives, material for making booby traps, documents and a night vision device were found during the raid in a mud-brick barn used for drying grapes into raisins, King said. Inside, the assault force found a pillow, blanket and a lantern that was still burning, said British Second Lieutenant David Spink, one of the first men in.
(More: Reuters UK News Source)
2002 © Reuters, Ltd.

Kinda funny. Reuters continues to spout that the coalition was at war with Afghanistan, not terrorists -- and these terrorists are really militants, not murderous oppressors.

Also, the PC-West seems to think everything is a success.

My, my, my,
Dan