Coalition troops capture key valley
Advancing coalition forces today claimed control of the Shah-e-Kot valley in eastern Afghanistan, sweeping all but a few small groups of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters as allied troops worked their way through the warren of mountain caves.
The announcement by US forces came after high-flying US B-1 bombers pounded al-Qaida and Taliban positions on a ridgeline that US officers dubbed ‘‘the whale’’. The dull thud of distant detonations could be heard this morning in Gardez, about 20 miles northeast of the front line.
‘‘In the past 24 hours our Afghan allies under generals Zia and Haider have seized the objective area, the ridgeline known as the ‘whale’ ... and the whole Shah-e-Kot valley,’’ said Maj Bryan Hilferty, spokesman for the 10th Mountain Division.
As US bombers flew overhead, Afghan fighters manoeuvred tanks into position for what commanders said would be a final push to eradicate al-Qaida fighters.
Hilferty said no more than 100 fighters were believed to still be in the area.
‘‘The al-Qaida and Taliban are free to surrender,’’ he said. ‘‘We’d love to have them surrender. But so far, they have all decided to die.’’
Afghan fighters loyal to commander Zia Lodin said they breached the first lines of al-Qaida and Taliban defences and captured the main cave complex used by the fighters, but were slowed yesterday by hostile fire and landmines.
Advancing Afghan troops found the bodies of seven foreign fighters yesterday, according to an Afghan commander, Abdul Hanan. He said he was not sure whether they were Arabs or Pakistanis.
US CH-47 Chinook helicopters flew what appeared to be small tanks into the battle area of Operation Anaconda at the base of the snowcapped Shah-e-Kot mountains.
‘‘We will continue combat operations in this area until we remove these parasites from Afghanistan,’’ Hilferty said.
As American troops steadily combed the rough terrain, US officials rejected a suggestion by one of their Afghan allies that the remaining al-Qaida fighters might be allowed to go free.
‘‘We are not going to stop the fighting to make any deals,’’ said Lt Col Dave Lapan, a spokesman for the Pentagon in Washington.
At the Pentagon, Air Force Brig Gen John Rosa said US and allied Afghan forces battled small pockets of enemy fighters in the Shah-e-Kot area yesterday. Rosa said US strike aircraft had dropped more than 100 bombs since Monday, bringing the total to more than 2,500 bombs since the offensive began on March 2.
Rosa also said US troops had begun searching abandoned al-Qaida caves in the area. He said there were ‘‘upwards of 40’’ caves there and that there had been no additional American casualties.
A US special forces delegation met members of the Gardez town council yesterday mto enlist their help in preventing Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives from receiving food, supplies and shelter from sympathetic local Afghans.
The US delegation also urged the council to convince residents to turn in Taliban or al-Qaida fighters who manage to escape the coalition onslaught in the Shah-e-Kot area, according to council chairman, Saifullah.
