Herald news services
WASHINGTON – Moving against remnant al-Qaida and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, U.S. forces killed 16 fighters in a gunbattle and captured 31 others at a military compound, U.S. officials said Monday.
There was no indication that any of those killed or captured were senior leaders of al-Qaida or the Taliban.
No American troops were wounded in either confrontation, Pentagon officials said.
The biggest U.S.-led ground offensive of the war, dubbed Operation Anaconda, was declared finished Monday.
“While this particular operation’s over, we’re still actively pursuing al-Qaida and Taliban personnel throughout Afghanistan and we’re preparing for any subsequent missions that may be needed,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. John Rosa, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In a sign of the global scope of the United States’ war on terrorism, Rosa said American troops in the Philippines evacuated three Filipino soldiers from Basilan Island after they were wounded in a firefight with Abu Sayyaf, the small Muslim extremist group some say is linked to al-Qaida.
In Afghanistan on Sunday morning, a team of Army Special Forces soldiers attacked a convoy of three vehicles about 45 miles southwest of the city of Gardez, killing 16 people believed to be al-Qaida fighters and wounding one. One other was detained, Rosa said.
U.S. forces initially fired warning shots from their helicopters, and those in the vehicles fired back. A firefight ensued on the ground, he said. He and other officials said they were awaiting other details.
Ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons were found in the three vehicles, Rosa said.
Rosa said he was not sure where the three-vehicle convoy had originated but other officials said it appeared those in the vehicles were trying to escape the area attacked heavily during Operation Anaconda.
In a separate incident shortly after the firefight, U.S. forces captured 31 suspected al-Qaida or Taliban fighters in a compound west of the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, officials said. Rosa said weapons and a large amount of ammunition were captured in the compound. He had no other details.
Rosa also said U.S. military officials were pleased with the outcome of Operation Anaconda, although he would not discuss how many enemy fighters may have been killed in those battles, which began March 2. He said whatever the body count, the al-Qaida had been disrupted and put on the run.
Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks called the operation in eastern Afghanistan’s Shah-e-kot Valley “an unqualified success.” He said future operations could require as many forces as did Operation Anaconda, which involved more than 1,000 U.S. ground troops and almost 1,000 allied Afghans. But future attacks are likely to look somewhat different as the military incorporates lessons from its operations, he said.
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