Pak holding ‘hundreds’ of Al Qaeda: US

WASHINGTON, Dec 20: Pakistan’s border forces have captured several hundred non-Afghan Al Qaeda guerillas fleeing the war in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said.

Rumsfeld, returning to Washington from a NATO meeting in Europe, also told reporters US marines were expanding a detention center at Kandahar Air Base in Southern Afghanistan to hold as many as 500 prisoners of the Afghan war.

He yesterday said guerrillas arrested by Pakistan included Al Qaeda network members from a number of countries in the Middle East and other areas. They were not Afghan or Pakistani, he added.

The Pakistanis, US allies in the anti-terror war, "have captured a very large number, hundreds of people who were fleeing over the border," Rumsfeld told a news conference.

"We have people who are communicating with them and doing everything humanly possible to avoid having the people that we’re pressing in Afghanistan from moving into neighboring countries where they could cause damage and terrorist acts there," he said.

"Our goal is to stop them, not to simply move the problem from one nation to another."

US forces have some militant leaders in custody but Rumsfeld declined to provide details as to their identity or importance.

"We do have a sense where some of those folks are. We’ve got some of them, some other folks have some of them, some of them are dead, and a lot of them are missing," the Defense Secretary said.

Al Qaeda is the militant network headed by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden — named by Washington as mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It was based in Afghanistan, protected by the once-dominant Taliban.

Last weekend, senior US officials publicly described Al Qaeda as vanquished with only "light resistance" left.

But reports in recent days that Al Qaeda fighters had fled across the rugged Afghan mountains into Pakistan have raised concerns that they might be able to regroup and foment new violence against the United States and against Pakistan.

J T Caruso, the FBI’s Assistant Director for Terrorism, told a senate committee on Tuesday that despite the US war in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, with operations in 60 countries, still retained 70 per cent of its capability.

At the Pentagon briefing, Rumsfeld poked fun at the caruso’s "mathematical precision" but agreed the militant network still has "businesses across the globe ... Cells ... Money ... (and) communications capability."

Rumsfeld refused to say if US forces had crossed the border into Pakistan in pursuit of fleeing guerrillas. He noted there are seven battalions of Pakistani Army troops along the border and stressed the Pakistan Army would do "all the heavy lifting."

Al Qaeda forces are "dangerous and armed" and are "still fighting in some cases," Rumsfeld said.

"Some have gotten across borders. A lot have been killed. A good number has been captured most recently," he said.

Fourteen people were killed yesterday when captured fighters of Al Qaeda seized Pakistani Army guards’ weapons while being moved to jail and opened fire, Government officials said.

In Islamabad, the US Envoy to Afghanistan James Dobbins said it was impossible to prevent some Al Qaeda forces from escaping into Pakistan but he was confident they would eventually be caught.

He said Pakistani officials assured him their reinforced patrols in the wild border region would try to intercept any escaping members of Osama bin Laden’s forces.

The pitched battles have diminished but fighting continues in the mountainous, heavily-bombed Tora Bora region in eastern Afghanistan where Afghan and US troops are sweeping "one by one" through cave and tunnel complexes of Al Qaeda, he said.

Following US demands that countries crack down on extremists, yemen on Wednesday sent special Army troops led by the son of President Ali Abdullah saleh to search for Muslim militants linked to Bin Laden a day after clashes that killed at least 18 people from both sides.

Rumsfeld did not rule out that the United States may have helped provide training or intelligence to the Yemenis but he indicated that no American forces were directly involved in the operation. (AGENCIES)

Congressmen support India’s right to defend its security

WASHINGTON, Dec 20: In contrast to the ambivalence of Bush administration officials on New Delhi’s right to attack terrorist camps, a bipartisan group of 60 members of the US House of Representatives has extended support to India to "defend itself against acts of terrorism that threaten its security. "

In a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the members said the Congress was ready to provide the Indian Government any assistance to find those responsible for the December 13 terrorist attack on the Parliament house complex in New Delhi.

"It is our intention that whatever assistance is deemed appropriate be provided as quickly and effectively as possible," they said.

They said they also supported President George W Bush’s decision to offer the assistance of the FBI and State Department’s counter-terrorism teams in the investigation of the attack.

Expressing relief that Mr Vajpayee, his cabinet colleagues and Members of Parliament were not harmed in the attack, the Congressmen said they were "greatly encouraged that your Government and the Members of Parliament have demonstrated unity and resolve in the face of a vicious and cowardly attack perpetrated by enemies of democracy."

They pointed out that strategic cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism between the US and India did not start on September eleven. "Over the past several years our two nations have forged a strong partnership in this area, including the US-India joint working group on terrorism, as well as on a wide-range of issue."

"The terrorists who attacked India and the US had targeted democracies that respected the rule of law, because they detest the freedoms we protect, and mistake our tolerance as a sign of weakness," they said.

"As architects of terrorism have already learned, the resolve of the civilised world will only be strengthened by our pursuit of justice in the face of their lawlessness," the Congressmen said.

The signatories to the letter included democrats Tom Lantos, Jim McDermott, Neil Abercrombie, Norm Dicks, Sherrod Brown, Frank Pallone and Republicans Mark Foley, Joe Knollenberg, Cliff Stearns and Connie Morella. (UNI)

Hamas battles Gaza Police, mulls stopping attacks

GAZA, Dec 20: Seven people were wounded in a gun battle between Hamas militants and Palestinian security forces who tried to arrest one of the movement’s leaders today, underlining Yasser Arafat’s problems in reining in such groups.

Another Hamas leader said the Islamic group was considering halting suicide attacks on Israelis which have brought intense international pressure on the Palestinian President to crack down on militants, but added that no decision had been taken.

Offering a rare glimmer of hope after 15 months of violence, Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs held talks late on Wednesday but a senior Palestinian official today called the meeting a "dialogue of the deaf".

Shooting broke out in the Gaza Strip after dozens of Hamas members surrounded the home of Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantissi when Palestinian police arrived to detain him as part of Arafat’s crackdown on militants following US and Israeli demands.

At one point during the exchange of fire, Hamas members shot at a convoy of cars escorting Palestinian intelligence chief Amin Al-Hindi, security sources said. A car was hit by gunfire but Hindi was not inside, the sources said.

Dozens of Hamas members prevented the Palestinian security forces from detaining Rantissi at his home, in the heavily pro-Hamas Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza city.

Calls to arms to defend Rantissi were broadcast over mosque loudspeakers in the neighbourhood and police later withdrew.

Palestinian police said in a statement that two policemen and five civilians had been wounded by the "armed activists".

A Hamas official described the statement as "lies" and said its supporters had fired "only in the air". He said police had opened fire, causing the injuries, described as slight to moderate.

"The police hold Rantissi responsible for the injuries and consider him a fugitive for resisting arrest and inciting the masses to harm national unity," the police statement said.

At least 784 Palestinians and 233 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.

Arafat has been under fierce US and Israeli pressure to crack down because of a recent a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks, but he risks stirring internal dissent by doing so.

The United States and European Union on Wednesday reaffirmed their common approach on the Middle East conflict, after recent discussions over how best to handle Arafat.

Arafat has outlawed the military wings of Hamas and other groups and arrested dozens of militants, and called for an end to suicide bombings and armed attacks on Israelis.

A senior Palestinian security official said on Wednesday the Palestinian authority had also since Monday arrested 12 of its own security men. The detainees also belong to a militant wing of Arafat’s Fatah Movement, a Palestinian security source said.

Hassan Youssef, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, said on Wednesday the group was considering suspending suicide attacks.

"It has not been decided yet but the movement is aware of the interests of the Palestinian people and will take a decision that stems from their higher interests," he said.

Marwan Barghouthi, the West Bank leader of Arafat’s Fatah faction, told media that Islamic and nationalist Palestinian factions were "reconsidering means and ways of resisting occupation, particularly martyrdom attacks".

Top Hamas officials in Gaza said earlier they knew of no decision to halt attacks against Israel.

Palestinian forces have shut several dozen offices linked to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, as well as five factories used to manufacture mortar bombs.

Israel has accused Arafat of going after low-level activists rather than ringleaders of attacks against Israelis since September 2000.

Despite this, Israel has offered to loosen its military grip on Nablus, the biggest Palestinian city in the West Bank, if Palestinian security forces take over to ensure calm.

Israeli military commanders and security service head Avi Dichter met the Palestinian preventive security chief in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub, and other Palestinian officials on Wednesday.

But Rajoub told Voice of Palestine Radio it had been a dialogue of the deaf in which Israel ignored demands to stop killing Palestinian militants and lift blockades imposed on Palestinian areas since their uprising against occupation began.

"We asked them to stop the assassination policy...And to lift the closure...But they believe that the world revolves around their security. They ignore the security and stability of the other side," Rajoub said.

The UN General Assembly was due to hold an emergency session today to discuss the Middle East. Diplomats said Arab states were expected to propose a resolution calling for an immediate end to the violence and affirming that the Palestinian authority was essential to any peace efforts.

Israel severed its ties with arafat following the most recent wave of attacks, but Israeli and Palestinian officials say high-level contacts between the sides continue.

The Israeli army tightened its blockade of Palestinian cities after recent bombings by Hamas. Palestinian officials say the restrictions hamper efforts to arrest militants. (AGENCIES)

Osama casts shadow over new Afghan administration

KABUL, Dec 20: Pakistani troops today sought escaped Al Qaeda fighters who could supply clues in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, whose long shadow hangs over the new Government to be installed in Afghanistan this weekend.

In the south, US marines admitted the first 15 Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners to a makeshift detention centre at the airport near the former Taliban powerbase of Kandahar for interrogations they hope may lead to bin Laden and other senior leaders.

Peace and stability were on the mind of Afghanistan’s new designated leader, Hamid Karzai, as he returned to the capital Kabul, after a lightning visit to Rome to pay his respects to ex-king Zahir Shah.

The former monarch, overthrown in a coup in 1973, is widely regarded by his people as a force for unity even though he is unlikely to hold office again. His close ties with Karzai have lent legitimacy to Karzai’s UN-sponsored administration.

That new Government, a mix of former Mujahideen (holy warriors), exiled technocrats and high-powered women, will be sworn in on Saturday, marking the start of a new age for one of the world’s classic failed states.

But casting a long shadow over a hopeful beginning is bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Bin Laden’s whereabouts are a mystery but some say he is still at large in Afghanistan despite a 25 million dollars bounty, his distinctive 6-foot-5 inch (1.95 meter) frame and one of the world’s best-known faces.

Seeking escapees who could hold clues to warm up a bin Laden trail that has gone cold, Pakistani troops fanned out across rugged mountains in a huge manhunt to recapture suspected Al Qaeda fighters who escaped yesterday after a gunbattle with their guards, officials said.

Captives from bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, arrested as they fled battles in Tora Bora just across the border in Afghanistan, were being taken to jail by bus when they grabbed weapons from their army guards and opened fire, North West Frontier Provincial officials said. Fifteen people died in the clash.

Army troops on the ground and helicopters were combing the Alizai area in the Kurram tribal agency, just south of Tora Bora, for suspected Al-Qaeda members still on the run, said an official in the local administrative centre, Parachinar.

The Pakistani army and frontier forces were transporting 156 captives, mainly Arabs who had escaped from eastern Afghanistan, officials said. They had not been handcuffed, the officials said.

The Arabs, many of them Yemenis, had fled a blistering US aerial bombardment of the Tora Bora mountains where bin Laden had been believed to be hiding and were captured by border patrols.

In Kandahar, 15 prisoners brought in darkness to a makeshift detention facility at a US marine base in Afghanistan were mostly young Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent said.

The agent said the prisoners did not include any of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives.

But US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said it was thought they may have information that could help capture Saudi-born militant bin Laden or divulge plans for further Al Qaeda attacks on the United States.

"We concluded, in conjunction with people holding them, that these were people who might have important information and might be themselves senior people," Wolfowitz said.

The prisoners, four of them injured, arrived at Kandahar international airport late on Tuesday, and were being held under heavy guard in a compound with space for 120 prisoners and surrounded by adobe walls and rolls of barbed wire.

The detainees were flown on a C-130 transport plane from a prison near Mazar-i-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan.

In Kabul, Karzai headed back to the capital where his new Defence Minister, Mohammad Fahim, was busy discussing a multinational security force for the Afghan capital.

The British-led force was expected to start arriving at any moment — but with a low-key role and in limited numbers.

The designated Defence Minister said the foreign security force planned for the capital Kabul will number no more than 1,000, with others involved in logistical support.

"I do not think there will be more than 1,000 people," Fahim told media.

"If there are more, then the rest will participate only in providing technical support and assist in humanitarian aid deliveries. The contingent providing support for peace and stability will be up to 1,000 people."

Fahim told reporters that the force would be quartered at one base and would stay for six months from the day the interim Government takes power on Saturday. (AGENCIES)

Bin Laden fighters abandon Aladdin’s cave of terrorism

TORA BORA, Dec 20: US military planes returned today to the skies over Osama bin Laden’s former hideout in eastern Afghanistan as military investigators went through the Aladdin’s cave of terrorism below.

Ammunition, guns, surface-to-air missiles and other weapons have been found in the caves hurriedly abandoned by the followers of the suspected planner of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

For the third day in a row a A-52 bomber flew in circles over the Tora Bora mountain where the Al-Qaeda leader had a network of caves and tunnels now being emptied by US special forces and Afghan militia.

At least one fighter-bomber and other observation planes were seen flying over the region on the lookout for the hundreds of fighters who fled two weeks of intense bombing raids.

Most of the mainly Arab and Chechen fighters were believed to have headed for the Pakistan border after the Al-Qaeda bases became a target.

Local Mujahedin fighters, working with US special forces, are going through the tunnels, which have been sealed off since the victory over Al-Qaeda.

Commanders said about 200 bodies have been found. But donkeys have also been seen coming back down the slopes carrying equipment and documents found in the bin Laden lair.

Access to one of the hundreds of caves was through a one metre wide drainage channel. Inside were thousands of white metal boxes packed with munitions.

Stacked from floor to ceiling along the walls were thousands of metal boxes inscribed with Chinese characters containing munitions, including tonnes of 12.7 millimetre ammunition, mortars and missiles.

Another cave further along the slope — between eight and 10 metres wide — contained a similar array of arsenal.

Other openings are visible in the mountain side. Some of the underground shelters would have required major work to construct.

Even after two weeks of intense bombing raids by B-52s dropping bombs of up to 15,000 pounds, the weapons dumps remained intact.

But a training camp 100 metres away was completely destroyed by the bombs. A tank in the centre of the camp was left a mass of twisted metal.

Some unconfirmed witness accounts said that further up the mountains, there were giant caves which had their own electricity supply and air conditioning.

It will take days, maybe weeks, to find out the real story of the secret of the caves.

The Mujahedin and US forces, seeking information on the whereabouts of bin Laden and his weapons capability, are doing their best to keep foreign journalists away from the hideouts.

But vehicles belonging to the US special forces and one commando were seen on a slope near the abandoned camp. (AFP)

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