U.S. warplanes bombing in support of cave-hunting opposition forces

By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – U.S. warplanes have begun providing close-air support for Afghan opposition troops fighting al-Qaida forces near cave complexes in the mountains south of Jalalabad, a senior U.S. military official said Thursday.

Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is believed to be hiding in the caves.

U.S. Special Operations Forces are working with opposition troops in the area, collecting information on the locations of suspected hide-outs or enemy troop concentrations and then relaying it to U.S. warplanes above. Pilots are using the information to target their satellite-guided weaponry, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

This kind of air-ground coordination with opposition forces has been used successfully in wresting control from the Taliban in the northern cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif and the southern stronghold of Kandahar, and Pace said he expects it to work in the mountainous east, as well.

Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. air support is meant to assist opposition ground forces who are moving through the valleys in the vicinity of the Tora Bora cave complex.

"They're able to see the caves that are active, they can see the caves that are not, and we're able to provide much more direct support to them," Pace said.

Terrorists are believed to be holed up in five to 10 cave complexes in the White Mountains south of Jalalabad. U.S. intelligence has not been able to confirm reports of the death of bin Laden's top spiritual adviser, Ayman al-Zawahri, said a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

U.S. warplanes will continue to drop "cave-buster" bombs on the mountain hide-outs, ranging from 500-pounds to one ton apiece, Pace added.

Asked if the cave complex would be the last area U.S. and opposition forces would attack, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that there are still "pockets of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in non-trivial numbers," throughout the country and outside urban areas.

This presents a problem for assisting refugees, Rumsfeld said, acknowledging that such dangers are preventing humanitarian assistance from reaching all Afghans who need it.

"The people on the ground are doing, in many cases, the best they can. They're trying to provide a stable, secure situation. There are criminals. There is disorder. There has been war," Rumsfeld said, adding, "It's going to take a little bit of time."

The Pentagon chief said reinforcements have entered Afghanistan to replace the men killed and wounded in the deadliest "friendly fire" incident of the Afghan war.

Rumsfeld said he's ordered an investigation into the mistaken bombing Wednesday that killed three Green Berets soldiers and wounded 20 other Americans.

An Air Force B-52 dropped a one-ton bomb near the soldiers after they had called in an airstrike against Taliban forces near Kandahar.

Six anti-Taliban Afghan fighters also were killed and 18 were wounded. One of the six died after being evacuated for medical treatment to the USS Bataan, located in the Arabian Sea, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said Thursday.

APNP-12-06-01 1509CST