Two U.S. Soldiers Injured in Afghanistan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 15, 2001

Two U.S. Soldiers Injured in Afghanistan

Two Soldiers of the U.S. special forces were slightly injured in combat operations in Tora Bora area in eastern Afghanistan, the CNN reported Friday.

Two Soldiers of the U.S. special forces were slightly injured in combat operations in Tora Bora area in eastern Afghanistan, the CNN reported Friday.

The U.S. military has sent special operations sniper and " snatch and grab" teams to the Tora Bora area to assist in killing or capturing Osama bin Laden and other senior leaders of the al Quaeda network, The Washington Post published Friday quoted senior U.S. defense officials as saying on Thursday night.

The arrival of the highly trained commandos indicated that war planners at the U.S. Central Command believe bin Laden and other al Quaeda leaders have not fled the region and are now cornered in heavily fortified cave and tunnel complexes among the mountains.

A senior defense official said there is a growing confidence that bin Laden remains in the Tora Bora area, citing three factors:

First, al Quaeda fighters are putting up extremely stiff resistance, "like there's something worth fighting for;"

Second, Afghan fighters besieging Tora Bora have reported recent sightings of bin Laden;

Third, other intelligence sources have provided evidence of bin Laden's presence in the region, which the official declined to specify.

"None of the three by themselves is particularly convincing, but all three coming together might mean something," the official was quoted as saying.

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