Anaconda Winds Down as Troops Scout Al Qaeda, Taliban Stragglers

Five hundred American and Canadian troops remained in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, looking for caves that might still be hiding Taliban or Al Qaeda fighters, as the U.S. military said its 16-day operation in the area was winding down.

Against a background of giant Chinook helicopter rotors stirring up the dust of this air base north of the capital, Kabul, soldiers back from days of searching for armed extremists in the Shahi Kot valley said they had successfully flushed out and killed at least five enemy fighters Thursday and Friday.

They also said that more caves and firing positions were being found that had been used by Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Evidence indicated that their foes were experienced, well-armed and professional soldiers, the troops said.

Operation Anaconda, the largest battle of the war in Afghanistan, was proclaimed an unvarnished success by the U.S. military even though fewer than expected bodies of Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters had been found in the Shahi Kot area and there was a strong suspicion among America’s Afghan allies that many of the terrorists managed to escape.

Hundreds of Terrorists Killed, U.S. Major Says

“We have destroyed their command and control. We have destroyed their caches [of weapons]. We have killed hundreds of the Al Qaeda terrorists who now will not be around to kill innocent men, women and children,” said Army Maj. Bryan Hilferty, spokesman for the 10th Mountain Division, briefing reporters here.

And even though the operation was winding down, he emphasized, “the hunt continues.”

Hilferty said U.S. and Canadian troops still in eastern Afghanistan were on high ground and Afghan allies were on the floor of Shahi Kot valley, which until last week was the largest known stronghold for Taliban and Al Qaeda die-hards in the nation. About 20 caves had been uncovered, he said.

Noting that it was St. Patrick’s Day, Hilferty vowed: “Just as St. Patrick is renowned for ridding Ireland of snakes, we will continue to rid Afghanistan of the Al Qaeda and Taliban snakes.”

Even though the U.S. forces and their Afghan allies had declared the valley taken Wednesday, several small groups of Al Qaeda fighters were discovered after they came out of hiding.

Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division said that they killed at least one Taliban member Thursday and that, before dawn Friday, four Talibs were spotted and eventually killed in a firefight with Afghans allied with the U.S.

Canadian Pvt. Shane Scofield of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, said his company had scoured parts of the mountains Thursday and Friday. On seeing an enemy cave, he said, the soldiers would fire a shoulder-launched rocket-propelled grenade round to kill anyone inside and to detonate any mines or booby traps. After looking for sensitive intelligence materials, they would use C-4 explosive charges to block the cave’s entrance.

Holdouts Could Be Buried Alive

Although they did not see any enemy troops, Scofield said, “the possibility that some were buried alive is high. There could be hundreds buried in there. There is just no way of knowing.”

Scofield’s companion, Cpl. Chris Desjardins, called it nerve-racking work walking for hours without rest over the unfamiliar terrain in thin high-altitude air, looking out both for enemies and for mines and booby traps.

“You’re a little nervous at first, obviously, but you get into your mission. You have to know if you screw up, you might die or someone else might die,” said Desjardins. But “once the adrenaline kicks in, you fall back on your training.”

“It felt good to be out there doing a job,” said Cpl. Landon Perry, another Canadian, who had emblazoned his cap with the letters F.A.T--Fight Against Terrorism.

U.S. Army Lt. Andrew Exum, 24, of Chattanooga, Tenn., said that based on what he had seen, the Army had been up against professional soldiers, not teenage dropouts. He described the enemy as “battered, but they know what they are doing.”

Exum, who had come back from the field Friday, said his platoon had blown up the entrance to a natural “spider hole”--a small cave with a small opening to offer fighters protection.

The platoon also came upon and destroyed a large firing position that may have been used by snipers and mortar teams, he said. It was surrounded by a low stone wall, he said, and contained stockpiles of food, ammunition and medical supplies.