U.S. Teams Find Weapons Caches in Afghan Caves

Reuters | 3/30/02

[kattracks]

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers said on Saturday they destroyed large caches of al Qaeda and Taliban arms and ammunition in the Shahi Kot Valley of eastern Afghanistan.

"Operation Anaconda" around Shahi Kot, the biggest ground campaign of the Afghan War, was declared officially over in early March, but U.S.-led coalition patrols continue to comb the rugged terrain for pockets of rebels and stores of weapons.

Members of the 744th Explosive Ordnance Disposal company said they destroyed a variety of mines, ammunition and weaponry. They brought back some fuses and mortar rounds, many of them Soviet-era or Chinese-made, for further study.

They also blew up a gun emplacement and a recoilless anti-tank rifle position on a strategic ridge.

"There was tons of ammunition there, so they were obviously prepared for some sort of battle there or in the near vicinity." Staff Sergeant Jason Dolan told reporters at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. "I think there's a lot more to be found."

None of the small caves and crevices was booby-trapped, he added.

"There were living accommodations, but they were more of a bunker they had built into the side of the wall or into a slope," he said.

Sergeant Miles Cathers said the unit found sacks of flour, beans and other supplies, but there was no way to tell how recently the caves had been occupied by al Qaeda or Taliban fighters.

Afghan troops working with the Americans took some of the weapons and ammunition, he said.

"They have a different outlook on safety and danger. We seem to be a more cautious group and they seem to be less fearful," Cathers said, adding that the Afghans wore none of the protective clothing that the Americans do.

"I wouldn't pick up some of the things that they did."

Dolan later told Reuters the team destroyed upwards of 15,000 rounds, many of them larger than .50 caliber.

"I went on another mission about a week ago and we found very small amounts. I think it was too high up in the mountains to really carry a lot up there," he said.

"When we were in the valley this time, we found thousands and thousands of rounds."

The disposal experts had little time to think about the dangers they faced, Dolan said.

"It's a strange feeling," he said. "You're more set on your mission...than sitting there feeling I could get my arm or my face or my entire body blown up."

[squeegee boy]

Just another indication that this will be a long mop up operation for us and the Afghanis for years to come