Raid Killed 7 Al Qaeda Suspects, Afghan Says

A missile fired by a CIA-operated drone aircraft in eastern Afghanistan killed seven suspected members of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist network, an Afghan leader said Thursday. Bin Laden was not among the dead, the official said.

A U.S. official acknowledged the attack but said it was uncertain whether it killed any leaders of Al Qaeda.

No mention of the attack was made during an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday by the U.S. war commander, Gen. Tommy Franks. The general told panel members that much remains to be done in Afghanistan.

In eastern Afghanistan, Wazir Khan, a brother of regional warlord Bacha Khan, said bad weather in the mountainous region in Paktia province had hampered efforts to get to the attack site. He said seven people were killed in the attack Monday but that “Osama is not among those people.” A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one person was killed, possibly a top Al Qaeda figure.

In his Senate testimony, Franks said the U.S. military will play a role in creating an Afghan national army, but that does not mean American troops will become part of an international peacekeeping force there.

Franks said much work remains to be done by the U.S. military in the country, including the review of documents and other evidence found at sites suspected of being involved in the development of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

Franks said he will not recommend to President Bush that U.S. military operations in Afghanistan be phased out “as long as there is a credible threat from puddles or pockets of Al Qaeda or residual hard-core Taliban” forces.

About 30 Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners arrived from Afghanistan at a special U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday, two weeks after the Pentagon suspended flights as it built more space for prisoners.