Military

DATE=06/25/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= AFGHAN / FIREFIGHT (S-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-291406

BYLINE=NICK SIMEONE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: American forces have come under fire from pockets of enemy resistance in Afghanistan. As correspondent Nick Simeone reports, the Pentagon is not yet sure whether it may have been from al-Qaida or remnants of the Taleban.

TEXT: The Pentagon says there were no American casualties when U-S forces came under rocket and mortar fire Monday northeast of Jalalabad. Some prisoners were taken, but at this point, General John Rosa is not sure who it was that led American forces to return fire.

/// ROSA ACT ///

It takes time to screen them and sort them out. So the ones that we've come across over the last week or two, we don't have any reports whether they are Taleban or al-Qaida. We are searching and gathering intel (EDS: Intelligence) all over that country and that just happened to be one of the spots where our teams were. They drew some fire and we came back at them.

/// END ACT ///

In another sign that al-Qaida might be regrouping, U-S forces in the region also discovered another large weapons cache containing anti-aircraft rockets and land mines. The Pentagon says al-Qaida fighters still left in Afghanistan are now mixing with civilians, making it harder to find and destroy them. (Signed)

NEB/NJS/MAR