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Operation Mountain Storm launched in Afghanistan
The US military will launch a spring offensive against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces along the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border codenamed "Operation Mountain Storm", US defence officials said on Friday. "Preparations - both intelligence and operational preparations - have begun in earnest," a defence official said. US forces have intensified intelligence gathering in the border area using a variety of surveillance aircraft to prepare for the operation, one official said. US troops have not yet begun deploying into the region in large numbers, but they are expected to ramp up quickly over coming weeks. Military commanders have said they intend to create a "hammer-and-anvil" effect by coordinating with heightened Pakistani operations in tribal areas on the other side of the border. Pakistan has applied unusual pressure on tribal leaders to give up al-Qaeda operatives, raising US hopes for the capture of bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the United States. The officials would not comment on recent US reports that elite commandos who stalked Iraqi president Saddam Hussein have been shifted to Afghanistan to hunt down bin Laden. The defense officials said the spring offensive has been named "Operation Mountain Storm." "One could make the argument that once there is a name for an operation, it has started," a second defence official said. But he cautioned that the activity so far has been to plan and prepare for action. US military personnel are in the region to coordinate with Afghan forces and with the Pakistanis, the officials said. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-03-13 |
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