British commandos lead Afghanistan campaign

THE WASHINGTON POST

Originally published Wednesday, April 17, 2002

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A coalition force spearheaded by British commandos swept into the frosty mountains of southeastern Afghanistan in recent days to open the latest search-and-destroy operation aimed at remnants of Taliban and al-Qaida forces, military officials disclosed Tuesday.

Joined by Afghan fighters and backed by U.S. airpower, hundreds of Royal Marines bounded from Chinook helicopters onto the 9,500-foot peaks, bringing with them 105mm howitzers last fired in combat during the Falklands War in 1982. The area, formerly used as a base by al-Qaida and Taliban, had already been cleared once, but intelligence reports indicated enemy fighters might be trying to reclaim it.

"Today there is a significant number of three commando brigades operating in the mountains of Afghanistan with coalition partners," British Brig. Roger Lane told reporters at Bagram air base, the headquarters for the U.S.-led military coalition north of Kabul. "The hunt for al-Qaida (and) Taliban goes on."

The deployment is the first major coalition operation in Afghanistan since U.S. forces drove enemy fighters out of the mountains around Shah-e-Kot, about 120 miles south of Kabul, last month. Dubbed Operation Ptarmigan, for a mountain bird that changes colors with the seasons, it also represents the first assignment for a detachment of elite British troops that began arriving in Afghanistan recently.

Other unpublicized missions also have been launched in the past week in an effort to track down any fugitives and prevent them from regrouping.

The aggressive pursuit comes at a tenuous moment for Afghanis-tan, as a rash of factional fighting and attacks against national leaders and U.S. forces stoke fear of renewed instability in a country that hasn't known peace for 23 years. Afghan and international security forces have moved to high alert as the country's former king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, prepares to return this week after nearly three decades in exile.

Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and a high-ranking delegation flew to Rome on Tuesday to escort the frail deposed monarch, 87, back to Afghanistan, where he remains a potent symbol of a lost era of relative tranquility. Although returning as a private citizen, Zahir Shah intends to open the loya jirga, or grand council, slated to choose an 18-month transitional government in June.

The former king's return had been postponed several times out of security concerns, and Italian authorities said Tuesday that they would send him home on a specially outfitted C-130 military airplane designed to counter missile attacks.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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