|
US sets up copter base in Afghan mountains
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-24 08:36
Using bulldozers to slice bunkers and a helicopter landing pad out of a
mountainside, U.S. special operations forces dug in Tuesday on a peak
overlooking Pakistan - fortifying the area for the intensifying battle against
al-Qaeda and Taliban forces.
Special operations forces - who include Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and CIA
operatives - are playing a secretive but leading role in the battle against
al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects believed to be hiding out in the mountains of
Pakistan's tribal areas.
Remote posts like this one near the Afghan city of Orgun, scratched out of a
mountainside to house a small contingent of U.S. forces and a larger Afghan
militia unit, serve as forward launch pads for the fight.
An Associated Press writer on Tuesday became the first to report from the
special operations' observation post since the start of Operation Mountain
Storm, a 2-week-old American offensive designed to capture Osama bin Laden and
his top lieutenants.
Village elders in this hamlet of 45 families in Paktika province said the
Americans arrived 18 days ago with Afghan militia.
The camp is home to 60 Americans, working with 200 Afghan militia, the Afghan
militiamen say. The Westerners wear T-shirts and sunglasses, and most sport
beards and mustaches, with pistols strapped to their legs. Rank and file U.S.
soldiers must remain in uniform and are banned from growing beards, but special
operations forces are not subject to the same regulations.
Villagers see the Americans out building their base and patrolling, at times
with allied Afghan militia - helping close the border against what villagers say
are frequent incursions by al-Qaeda and Taliban.
The U.S. military says its forces also are sharing information with Pakistani
troops across the border - intelligence typically coming everywhere from
satellites to intercepted radio calls.
On Tuesday, the Americans were erecting 100 yards of wire fence along the
border beside their base. They also dug holes, which will become bunkers, to
live in while their Afghan allies put up tents.
Workers used construction equipment to level a helipad.
Americans around the camp refused to speak to AP. Relaying their request
through Afghan militiamen, they eventually asked the reporter to leave, saying
no journalists were allowed in the area.
The U.S. military as a matter of policy does not comment on special
operations. But asked about buildup along the Afghan-Pakistan border in the
area, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty said: "We do have some
positions that are constantly changing. We are constantly rearranging."
On the Pakistan side, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has said about a dozen
U.S. "technical experts" are in his country. Some are located across the border
from the special operations post in Miran Shah, Pakistani intelligence officials
told AP.
Last week, a Pakistani army spokesman, Gen. Shaukat Sultan, said a dozen or
so U.S. intelligence agents were in the country "assisting Pakistan in technical
intelligence and surveillance." The CIA declined to comment.
Afghan villagers near the new post said they welcomed the U.S. crackdown,
saying they have come under a growing cross-border rocket barrage from Pakistan.
"So many rockets. We are living in fear of rockets," said shopkeeper Shawar
Khan in Sisandi, a village near the U.S. encampment.
Both sides of the border around Miran Shah have come under repeated rocket
attacks by militants hoping to hit U.S. or Afghan military posts. Authorities
blame al-Qaeda fugitives and allied Pakistan tribesmen. Taliban fighters are
believed to be hiding in the mountains as well.
No uniformed American forces have been seen in recent days along one of the
front lines in the U.S. campaign against terror suspects based in Pakistan's
North and South Waziristan, locals say.
Across the border and about 45 miles to the south, in South Waziristan,
Pakistan's military has arrested scores in its toughest and bloodiest operation
against terror suspects in the tribal areas since Musharraf allied with the
United States against terror in 2001.
These mountains in Afghanistan are a hot spot as well.
On March 5, U.S. special operations forces killed nine suspected insurgents
near this stretch of border when a group of 30 to 40 men appeared to try to
flank a U.S.-Afghan position here, the U.S. military said.
Village leaders say Taliban and al-Qaeda attackers cross the border at will.
Asked for proof, they laughed, as if there could be no doubt.
"Everyone can come easily into Afghanistan. Everyone can go easily into
Pakistan," said Mohammed Khan, another shopkeeper in Sisandi. "There are no
Afghan checkpoints."
"For 2 1/2 years, they are coming and attacking" from Waziristan, said Shawar
Khan. "That's why in this area, there are no schools, there's no health clinics,
there's no development. Everyone is afraid to come to our area."
Since the Americans' arrival, villagers have stayed inside after dark, saying
the U.S. security outweighed the inconvenience of the curfew.
The U.S. and Afghan forces have closed this part of the border, at least, to
any attacks, Mohammed Khan said.
"Right now, from this area, it's impossible that anyone can come," the
villager said. "But it's a huge border."
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Today's
Top News |
|
|
|
Top World
News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
