[A-List] Afghanistan: the blowback continues

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

US mission aims to wipe out Afghan cell
Troops sent to wipe out rebels regrouping in mountains, writes IAN BRUCE and
MARTIN WILLIAMS
The Herald, 6 June 2003

US forces yesterday launched an operation in eastern Afghanistan to flush
out a high-level Taliban or al Qaeda cell which has slipped back across the
Pakistan border to set up a guerrilla base.

More than 500 heavily-armed American troops were flown in secret earlier
this week to the Shahikot mountains for a mission aimed at killing or
capturing Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Taliban's fugitive chief of staff, and a
band of Arab volunteer fighters.

The American move came as Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, met Tony
Blair in London yesterday. The prime minister pledged Britain's continued
commitment to help rebuild Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.

Haqqani is believed to be accompanied by Saif Rahman Mansur, who
masterminded last year's two-week battle against US and Afghan government
troops in the same area.

Seven US soldiers died and 11 were wounded in a combined Taliban and al
Qaeda ambush on March 4, the deadliest day of the campaign to oust the
Taliban regime and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist training camps.

It took another 10 days of intensive bombing and a huge injection of
reinforcements to capture the mountain stronghold. Even then, while Mansur
fought a rearguard action to hold the American forces at bay, most of the
guerrillas and their leaders slipped away across mountain tracks into
Pakistan's tribal territories.

Three Arab fighters trained by al Qaeda are with Mansur. One is understood
to have vowed revenge on the Americans and the Afghan government for the
capture of his son last year. The boy is now under questioning at Guantanamo
Bay in Cuba.

Major Jack Marr, a spokesman for US forces involved in the operation, said
the Taliban infiltrators have been buying the silence of communities in the
remote Shahikot region. Mansur, who comes from the area, has a brother there
and Haqqani's brother, Haji Khalil, has been seen in mountain villages.
"Intelligence sources indicate that the Taliban and perhaps al Qaeda have
moved back into the mountains which have been a base for them since the
Soviet invasion in the 1980s. Haqqani and Mansur are high on our most-wanted
list," he added.

"We believe they have crossed back into Afghanistan to stage raids on our
forces or to disrupt aid agency operations. Their aim is to inflict American
casualties and discredit the pro-western government in Kabul.

"Our objective over the next few days is to sweep through the area to flush
them out. After that, it's up to them whether they surrender or go down
fighting. Either way, we will try to ensure they don't slip away again."

At Downing Street, Mr Karzai briefed Mr Blair and Jack Straw, the foreign
secretary, over the challenges his country faces more than a year after the
collapse of the Islamic fundamentalist regime.

Mr Karzai's government holds little effective power beyond the capital of
Afghanistan, the world's leading exporter of opium.

The interim president outlined the progress made towards setting up a
permanent government, Mr Blair's spokesman said. Under the Bonn agreement, a
new constitution must be ratified by the end of this year, before elections
next year.

Earlier the Afghan leader met David Blunkett, home secretary to discuss
returning failed asylum seekers to Afghanistan. Britain began the enforced
deportation of Afghan asylum seekers in April.

"We want people to return, preferably voluntarily, so that they can
contribute to the rebuilding of their country," said Mr Blunkett, adding
that Britain would provide assistance to ensure they were equipped to make
such a contribution.