Rumsfeld says Marines are on bin Laden’s trail

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan – More Marines poured into Afghanistan on Tuesday, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said America was “tightening the noose” around Osama bin Laden and his Taliban allies. Taliban control in their southern stronghold appeared to be crumbling.

“We’ll pursue them until they have nowhere else to run,” Rumsfeld told reporters at the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

U.S. Marines, who established a base in southern Afghanistan late Sunday, sent out armed patrols Tuesday as part of the American effort to bring the fight to the Taliban’s southern homeland.

Less than three days after first landing in southern Afghanistan, more than 600 Marines were on the ground, with at least 400 more on their way. Pentagon officials said they would help choke off escape routes for Taliban leaders and fighters loyal to bin Laden.

The anti-Taliban Northern Alliance said it crushed a bloody, three-day revolt by bin Laden’s foreign fighters who had surrendered last weekend in the northern city of Kunduz.

However, U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks, who runs the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, said 30 to 40 hard-core fighters were still holding out in a mud-walled fortress near Mazar-e-Sharif.

With the collapse of Taliban resistance in the north, attention has focused on the south, where the Islamic militia that protected bin Laden remains in control of the city of Kandahar and a handful of provinces.

President Bush launched military operations Oct. 7 in Afghanistan after the Taliban refused to surrender bin Laden, alleged architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Rumsfeld also said the Pentagon ordered airstrikes Tuesday against a compound southeast of Kandahar after learning that it was being used by senior leaders of the Taliban, al-Qaida and Wafa, a Saudi humanitarian group that was among several groups named by the United States as aiding bin Laden and his network.

U.S. F-16 jets and B-1B bombers attacked two targets with precision-guided weapons, military officials said.

In Washington, D.C., U.S. officials said that of an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 members of bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network in Afghanistan, several hundred have been killed.

Seven of those killed are considered al-Qaida leaders, said another official, speaking on condition of anonymity. They include Mohammed Atef, one of bin Laden’s top two deputies, killed in a U.S. strike around Nov. 14.

Other leaders believed killed include Mohammed Salah and Tariq Anwar, two high-ranking members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad who are part of al-Qaida, the officials said.

Franks said the hunt for bin Laden and his al-Qaida followers was focusing on two areas: Kandahar in the south and a mountain base called Tora Bora south of Jalalabad in the east near the Pakistan border.

Kandahar residents reached by telephone said Taliban fighters were positioning anti-aircraft guns and mortars on hilltops surrounding the city. But the center of the city appeared largely deserted.

The Taliban have vowed to defend Kandahar rather than abandon it as they did Kabul, the capital, and other cities. However, the South Asian Dispatch Agency, a private Pakistani news service with a correspondent in Kandahar, quoted unidentified Taliban fighters in the city as saying they had been ordered to prepare to leave on short notice.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

Lake Stevens Sewer District wastewater treatment plant. (Lake Stevens Sewer District)
Lake Stevens sewer district trial delayed until April

The dispute began in 2021 and centers around when the city can take over the district.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

A salmon carcass lays across willow branches in Edgecomb Creek on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tribes: State fish passage projects knock down barriers for local efforts

Court-ordered projects have sparked collaboration for salmon habitat restoration

The Everett Municipal Building on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Everett council approves $111 million construction of sewer project

The Port Gardner Storage Facility, in the works for more than a decade, will help prevent overflows of the city sewer system.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.