Running low on ammunition, hundreds of al-Qaida fighters are concentrated near two cave complexes in the eastern Afghan mountains but land mines are proving a major problem in routing them. As Operation Anaconda entered its second week, U.S. troops and their Afghan allies scoured the mountains, pursuing a surrender-or-die policy against enemy forces. Afghan fighters said about 400 al-Qaida and Taliban troops were holed up around one cave complex and about 100 more were believed around another. American mine-clearing teams were trying to remove the mines but progress was slow.
That's what's supposed to happen. There's no need to rush it now, assuming their supply and reinforcement routes are cut. |