Al-Qaida cave the ‘best bunker I’ve ever seen’

Associated Press

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — U.S. soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday described dangerous cave-by-cave searches for the few remaining al-Qaida and Taliban fighters holed up in the rugged hills of the Shah-e-Kot valley.

The most intense combat in Operation Anaconda ended more than a week ago. But about 500 Canadian and U.S. infantrymen, along with special forces and U.S.-allied Afghan fighters, have been searching the cave complexes for the past several days.

The Canadians are expected to leave the area today, according to the Canadian Press news agency.

Coalition soldiers shot and killed an enemy fighter who was apparently trying to bury a fallen comrade, said Staff Sgt. Del Rodriguez, 31, of the 10th Mountain Division.

"We plugged him," said Rodriguez, of Redding, Calif., of the incident Thursday. The unit then spotted the body of the second fighter.

"I wasn’t going to take any chances, so we shot him, too," said Staff Sgt. Lonnie Schultz, 28, of Denver. Rodriguez said it appeared the first fighter had been trying to bury the body of the other man.

Rodriguez and the others found "spider holes" in the rocks that enemy fighters could pop out of that led to an underground chamber. Inside the bunker were rocket-propelled grenade rounds and other ammunition, as well as medical supplies, including IVs hanging from the cave ceiling.

"We didn’t expect to see anything like that," said Sgt. Jonathan Wightman, 26, Phoenix, who also took part in the assault. "It’s the best damn bunker I’ve ever seen."

Rodriguez said that later that night, four Afghan fighters were spotted by an AC-130 Spectre in the same area, moving toward the valley floor. U.S. allied Afghan fighters tracked them to the valley and killed them in a firefight, Rodriguez said.

Canadian commander Lt. Col. Pat Stogran said the area of operation was marked by "grotesquely rugged terrain" which has made it difficult to clear.

In other developments: