WASHINGTON - Up to 200 US Army Rangers ground forces attacked a Taleban target in southern Afghanistan in a "significant new phase" of the military battle that had so far been fought by air, according to reports this morning.
"Between 100 and 200 Army Rangers are in the midst of
their first raid on a target belonging to the Taleban," CBS News said, and a senior White House official told CNN the new phase was not "an insignificant operation" but involved a "modest number of combat forces."
The Pentagon had no immediate comment on the reports.
News of the ground war came after US defence officials told Reuters earlier on Friday that small numbers of elite Special Operations troops were in Afghanistan, marking a new phase in Washington's nonstop bombing of that rugged country.
On the 13th day of air strikes on Taleban troops and al Qaeda guerrilla camps, the officials told Reuters the commandos were contacting tribal factions in southern Afghanistan opposed to Taleban leadership as part of a CIA-controlled political thrust.
The officials, who asked not to be identified, suggested along with tough and pointed radio messages being broadcast to Afghanistan by the US military, that the small presence of highly trained troops could grow in coming weeks to fulfil a US vow to track down Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.
The US military has 45,000 active and reserve troops in the Special Operations forces, including the Army's Green Berets and the Navy's Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) teams -- trained and equipped for clandestine combat ranging from night-time snatch-and-grabs to sabotage.
President Bush, in Shanghai, China, on an official visit, and the Pentagon earlier refused to confirm or deny the presence of US troops in Afghanistan.
But Bush reiterated that "we will do whatever is necessary to achieve our objective".
"As capable as these forces are, I think the reason is clear. If or when they are on the ground, being there would make them the most vulnerable individuals engaged in this campaign," Navy Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem told reporters at the Pentagon.
"I hope that you will understand I'm sure that the families of those brave young warriors will understand," said the admiral, a senior operations officer with the military's Joint Staff.
But there were signs that small numbers of American troops were also in northern Afghanistan.
A commander with Northern Alliance forces opposed to the Taleban said eight US personnel had earlier arrived in northern Afghanistan and been moving with opposition warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum.
"Yes, they are with General Dostum in Dara-i-Suf," Ustad Attah Mohammad, a top opposition commander, told Reuters in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad by satellite phone. The town is some 90km southeast of the strategic city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
"There are eight of them and they came by helicopter some time back," he said. "The helicopters went back and these men look to be reconnaissance or intelligence rather than ground troops."
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at a briefing for reporters on Thursday that air power alone simply could not do the job of routing out bin Laden's guerrillas.
Rumsfeld said terrorist networks had every advantage in surprise attacks such as the Sept. 11 strike and "that means that we simply must go and find them."
"You don't do it with conventional capabilities. You do it with unconventional capabilities," he said, noting that aircraft "can't crawl around on the ground."
- REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Up to 200 US Army Rangers ground forces attacked a Taleban target in southern Afghanistan in a "significant new phase" of the military battle that had so far been fought by air, according to reports this morning.
"Between 100 and 200 Army Rangers are in the midst of
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