WASHINGTON (voa) – The U.S. military says hundreds of Taleban and al-Qaida fighters have been killed as U.S.-led coalition forces press their offensive in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
The commander of the operation, Army Major General Frank Hagenbeck, said the U.S.-led forces Tuesday killed many enemy fighters who were caught in the open on their way to the battle front. Pentagon officials say that since Friday at least 200 al-Qaida and Taleban fighters have been killed.
Officials also say continued airstrikes are weakening enemy resistance, but opposition remains stiff. Allied forces are moving up snow-covered mountains in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, trying to reach areas where hundreds of al-Qaida and Taleban fighters are believed to be hiding out. The bodies of eight U.S. soldiers killed in the fighting arrived in the United States early Wednesday.
President Bush says the U.S. soldiers died for a just and noble cause — the defense of freedom.
Australian, Canadian, Danish, French, German, and Norwegian soldiers are backing U.S. and Afghan troops as they battle the Taleban and al-Qaidai fighters in what the military calls Operation Anaconda.
