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AFP Thursday May 2, 3:26 PM Coalition forces launch fresh operation in Afghanistan Some 1,000 US and British troops have launched a fresh operation against a "key base for terrorists" in southeastern Afghanistan. British task force commander Brigadier Roger Lane said "Operation Snipe" targeted what was or had been a terrorist base in rugged terrain. "Elements of the coalition are now deployed in the southeast of Afghanistan in what is called Operation Snipe," Lane said on Thursday. Colonel Paul Harradine said the operation was British-led but involved US troops and air support. "To my knowledge there has been no contact with the enemy," he told reporters at this coalition base north of Kabul. He said members of the British 45 Commando were among "about 1,000" troops deployed in the operation, but few other details could be released as the action was ongoing. The location was not revealed, but Harradine said it was taking place in "rough terrain, a high peaks area". Another British officer, Squadron Leader Tom Round, said Operation Snipe fell within the US-led Operation Mountain Lion in the eastern provinces of Khost and Paktia. Defence department officials in Washington said several hundred troops were now in Khost and Paktia and more could be brought in if needed. The official said coalition forces, which include Australian and US commandos as well as Afghan fighters, were pursuing small groups of suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters on the Afghan side of the border, not inside Pakistan. "Small groups can become large groups but so far we don't see Anaconda-like regroupings," he said. Anaconda, the largest US ground operation in the Afghan campaign, targeted a fortified Taliban and al-Qaeda mountain redoubt in Paktia. US commanders said hundreds of extremists were killed in the 17-day operation in March, although few bodies were found, raising suspicions that many of the fighters escaped across the border to Pakistan. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
