US troops and equipment pour into Afghan base
Troops and equipment continued to pour into a secret US Marine base in southern Afghanistan today, with military officials reporting a quiet night on the base perimeter.
The Marines seized this airstrip within striking distance of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in a night raid on Sunday. Cobra helicopter gunships had engaged a column of 15 suspected hostile vehicles on Monday night after high-flying aircraft identified it and bombed them.
The Cobras followed up with their own attack, and Cobra pilots involved said there was no evidence of any military threat after the engagement ended.
Today, Captain David Romley, a public affairs officer for Task Force 58, said the night had been quiet on the base’s perimeter. Helicopters and C-130 aircraft landed through the night to bring in reinforcements.
The base is a modern complex of buildings, where construction appeared to have been underway. There was evidence, such a bullet holes in the white concrete walls of the buildings, of previous fighting here.
‘‘The Marines have clearly strengthened their positions,’’ said Romley following a morning staff briefing. ‘‘There were no engagements on our perimeters, however we continue to flow in additional personnel, equipment and ordinance.’’
Marines were calm but busy at the dusty base set up for Operation Swift Freedom, while those who could be seen on the surrounding sand and dunes kept a constant lookout from outposts and patrols.
The Marines have refused to say how many troops it had on the ground, and it was not possible to estimate because many of the units were in the field.
In Tampa, Florida, yesterday, the commander of the US war effort, General Tommy Franks, said that by the time the deployment is complete, between 800 and 1,100 Marines will be at the base, located near Kandahar, the last city held by the Taliban.
Franks said the ‘‘forward operating base’’ was intended ‘‘to give us a capability to be an awfully lot closer to the core objectives we seek’’ destruction of the Taliban militia that once controlled most of Afghanistan and al-Qaida, the terrorist network it is accused of harbouring.
Among the Marines’ missions, Franks said, would be watching roads for fleeing Taliban.
While the Marines’ presence ‘‘does in fact provide pressure’’ against Kandahar, they were not deployed for an assault on the city, Franks said. The Marines could be stationed at the base for more than 30 days, he said.
The deployment, dubbed Task Force 58, is made up of the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units, which normally number more than 4,000, plus other troops.
The two units are based on six ships now in the northern Arabian Sea, and troops were being flown in from the ships and from secret air bases on land.
Captain Stewart Upton, Task Force 58 public affairs officer, warned reporters not already with the Marines not to try to reach the base, saying it would be difficult for the Marines to ‘‘tell friend from foe.’’
He said Taliban forces were in the area, and have sometimes used civilian vehicles making it impossible for troops to be certain of the intentions of any approaching vehicle.
