Military

DATE=12/11/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= AFGHAN FIGHTING (L)

NUMBER=2-284137

BYLINE= LARRY JAMES

DATELINE= KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Anti-Taleban forces say they have driven al-Qaida fighters from their stronghold in the Tora Bora cave complex in northeastern Afghanistan. But as Larry James reports from Kabul, hundreds of al-Qaida forces are thought to be still at large in that part of the country

TEXT: The anti-Taleban troops say that after a fierce battle at Tora Bora they overcame the al-Qaida defenders and forced them to retreat to a mountaintop on the Pakistani border.

American B-52 bombers supported the anti-Taleban advance and they were some reports that U-S helicopters may have been involved in the battle. Afghan troops in the area said U-S special operations forces had been involved in the attacks on the heavily defended al-Qaida positions carrying out overnight raids on the tunnel and cave complex.

Across the border, Pakistani soldiers have been deployed on mountains south of Tora Bora to stop al-Qaida fighters from crossing the frontier along the 47-hundred meter high White Mountains.

It is still not known whether all the al-Qaida troops had abandoned the extensive network of caves and tunnels at Tora Bora or if some of them are holding out in fortified positions deep underground.

In southern Afghanistan, U-S Marines continued their hunt for the Taleban fighters who fled Kandahar after the surrender of the city last Friday. It's believed large numbers of them are trying to escape across the border to Pakistan. Meanwhile, U-N special envoy Lakdar Brahimi arrived in Kabul to discuss the transfer of power to an interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.

On his arrival, Mr. Brahimi told reporters that all parties in Afghanistan need to be included in deciding what will happen once the interim government takes over on December 22nd.

He said the United Nations is not going to impose anything on the people of Afghanistan. He said there needs to be, what he termed, a home grown solution.

Several Afghan factional leaders are unhappy with the makeup of the interim government but have agreed to continue to support peace efforts despite their differences.

NEB/LDJ/KBK