Military

DATE=1/10/2002

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-285071

TITLE= AFGHANISTAN / U-S (L)

BYLINE=AYAZ GUL

DATELINE=ISLAMABAD

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: American warplanes have been pounding suspected Al-Qaida hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, amid reports that Afghan military units are withdrawing from Kabul as part of a plan to demilitarize the capital. From Islamabad, Ayaz Gul reports.

TEXT: Afghan Islamic Press says U-S fighter planes have bombed a former

suspected Al-Qaida training camp in Zhawar in eastern Khost Province. The

area is less than 10 kilometers from the Pakistani border. A search

operation is under way in the region for remnants of the Taleban and

Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida network.

The Pakistani based news agency says the air strikes began late Wednesday and continued Thursday morning. It also says that 50 U-S soldiers were flown to Khost, bringing the total there to about 150.

Meanwhile, the leader of the interim administration in Kabul, Hamid Karzai, has urged Afghan factions to work together to restore security to the

country. In a bid to improve safety in the capital city, the government

has ordered all armed men -- except authorized security personnel -- to

leave Kabul by Saturday or face jail.

Senior Afghan officials are quoted as saying some military units have

begun withdrawing to their bases outside the city on Thursday. Under a peace plan agreed to in Germany, an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) of about 4,500 troops led by Britain is expected to be in place in Kabul by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, in southern Afghanistan, local Afghan commanders have sparked a controversy by releasing a number of senior Taleban ministers the U-S government wanted held for interrogation. The ousted Taleban officials surrendered early this week to authorities near Kandahar.

A spokesman for Afghanistan's government says it is trying to determine if

their release was appropriate. U-S officials say the detainees were of

great interest to the United States in tracking down other senior leaders

of the Taleban and terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. (SIGNED)

NEB/AG/KBK