BAGRAM, Afghanistan?The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan declared Monday that the operation to destroy Taliban and al Qaeda in the eastern mountains was “an unqualified and absolute success” despite claims by Afghan allies that most of the enemy fighters got away.
Gen. Tommy Franks, chief of the U.S. military’s Central Command, said the offensive would be over by day’s end, but the fight against terrorists was far from over.
Britain announced Monday that it will send up to 1,700 troops to Afghanistan to help U.S. forces in future operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban.
In Washington, a senior Pentagon official said U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan attacked a convoy of three vehicles believed to be trying to ferry al Qaeda fighters out of the Shah-e-Kot Valley area.
The attack on Sunday killed 16 enemy fighters and wounded one, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. One person was detained. There were no American casualties, the official said.
A separate U.S.-led operation in that area resulted in the capturing of an unknown number of suspected al Qaeda fighters, one officer said. No Americans were wounded in that engagement, either, but the officer said he did not immediately have other details.
Operation Anaconda was launched March 2 to clear al Qaeda and Taliban fighters from the Shah-e-Kot valley in Paktia province. Al Qaeda and Taliban positions fell last week, but some of the Afghan commanders fighting alongside the Americans believe most of the fighters escaped.
One senior Afghan leader, Commander Abdullah, said that the enemy fighters fled during the heavy U.S. air bombardment. Another commander, Abdul Wali Zardran, said that coalition forces did not wipe out al Qaeda’s fighters.
“Americans don’t listen to anyone,” Zardran said. “They do what they want. Most people escaped. You can’t call that a success.”
Franks, who arrived here to meet U.S. commanders and award Bronze Star medals, predicted the operation would end within 12 hours.
“We still have additional work to do,” Franks said during a news conference at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. “If you talk to any one of these soldiers, they’ll tell you they are here to do that work.”
Franks refused to speculate on the number of enemy fighters who may have been killed in Operation Anaconda, but insisted the area “is a very different place” than it was when the operation began.
He refused to discuss the next stage in the U.S.-led fight against al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts, but said, “I believe that future operations may well be the size of Anaconda.”
British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Britain will deploy a full infantry battle group including Royal Marines commandos in Afghanistan in its largest military deployment for combat operations since the Persian Gulf War.
Hoon said the United States had requested Britain join future operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Hoon said the British troops would go initially to Bagram, with the first members arriving within days, and would be ready to begin offensive operations by mid-April.
In recent days, coalition forces have examined 30 caves, finding ammunition, clothing, supplies and sensitive documents, said Capt. Steven O’Connor, spokesman for the 10th Mountain Division.
He said there had been no contact with enemy fighters in the last day.