US Warplanes Continue Bombings Against Suspected Al-Qaeda Hideout in Afghanistan: AIP

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 03, 2002

US Warplanes Continue Bombings Against Suspected Al-Qaeda Hideout in Afghanistan: AIP

US warplanes on Sunday continued their bombing campaign against the suspected Al-Qaeda hideout in the mountains of Arma, eastern Afghanistan, according to the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).

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U.S. warplanes on Sunday continued their bombing campaign against the suspected Al-Qaeda hideout in the mountains of Arma, eastern Afghanistan, according to the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).

Quoting a spokesman for the local council in Gardez, capital city of Paktia province, the AIP said the U.S. jets had bombed Arma area all night and started again on Sunday morning.

A local Afghan commander told the private news agency on the front line that there was no ground assault at night because of the bitter cold in the mountain area.

"Al-Qaeda fighters have resisted hard and this fight might take a long time," the commander said.

According to an early report by the AIP, U.S. warplanes resumed air attacks Friday night against the suspected Al-Qaeda positions in Arma, where around 500 Al-Qaeda members, including Arabs and their foreign supporters, were believed to be hiding. Among them, there were also women and children.

On Saturday, more than 1000 Afghan fighters along with 30 U.S. military advisers launched a ground assault against the suspected area, during which two of the Anti-Al-Qaeda fighters were killed while five others injured.

According to the AIP, three front lines have been established near the suspected Al-Qaeda hideout in Arma, some 40 kilometers southeast of Gardez. Forces from Gardez are manning the northern front line, forces from eastern Khost province are on the eastern front line while the third is occupied by troops from Urgun in neighboring Paktika province to the south, it said.

The U.S. military also confirmed on Saturday that U.S. and its allied Afghan forces were fighting Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in eastern Afghanistan, with one American serviceman and two Afghan soldiers killed in battle.

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Ground Assault Launched Against Suspected Al-Qaeda Hideout in Eastern Afghanistan: AIP