March 25, 2002

Al-Qaeda forces regrouping in Afghanistan: Cheney
Monday March 25, 12:56 PM
US Vice President Dick Cheney said al-Qaeda forces were still trying to regroup inside Afghanistan but that US forces were working to thwart their plans, and the
consolidation of a strong Afghan government.

Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition" program, Cheney confirmed Sunday that intelligence showed al-Qaeda was "regrouping" and "clearly would like to" take action
against the United States.

"And we see movement," Cheney added.

"There are still al-Qaeda scattered around Afghanistan. There are, I'm sure, going to be efforts by them to try to organize themselves enough so that they can launch
an attack at least on our forces in Afghanistan," the US vice president said.

"We saw, obviously, a coalescing of a group in the area where we launched Operation Anaconda a couple of weeks ago, and very successfully eliminated a big
chunk of the al-Qaeda," Cheney pointed out.

Al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, are blamed for the September 11 attacks on the United States that left about 3,000 people dead.

Meanwhile, the commander in charge of the Afghan operation, General Tommy Franks, speaking Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" show said the United States
still had to complete its task in Afghanistan.

"What we have left to do is be sure that we've completed what we started out to do 169 days ago, and that's to assure ourselves that the al-Qaeda network inside
Afghanistan is destroyed, and so we're going to continue to do that work until we are, in fact, satisfied," Franks said.

He said allied forces were "making progress in getting that done" citing the ouster of the Taliban militia as a governing entity in its entirety.

A US Central Command spokesman in Tampa, Florida, declined to comment "for operational reasons" on whether a new operation was in the planning to counter
any regrouping.

"Anaconda is a clear indication of the support of the Afghan forces as well as coalition forces that if there's an issue with remaining al-Qaeda or Taliban that we'll
address them appropriately," spokesman Major Brad Lowell told AFP in a telephone interview.

"We have said all along there's potential for pockets to exist," said Lowell, adding that the United States would take action "if the need arises."

"We continue to watch all of Afghanistan. We have assets and resources available to do that for reconnaissance on the ground, intelligence, cooperation with Afghan
forces," the spokesman said.

Coalition troops, meanwhile, were on Sunday continuing to scour the Shahi Kot valley in eastern Afghanistan following the conclusion of Operation Anaconda last
Monday.

The searches recently uncovered "more small arms, machine guns, mortars and documents and a large quantity of munitions," Major Bryan Hilferty told press at
Bagram Air Base, a US military base north of Kabul, without specifying exactly when.

Eight US servicemen were killed in the early days of Operation Anaconda, which began March 2, and US military officials say "hundreds" of Taliban and al-Qaeda
fighters were killed.

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First Royal Marine fighters in Kabul

Monday, 25 March, 2002, 10:00 GMT

Royal Marines will fight alongside US forces

The first batch of Royal Marines have arrived in Afghanistan to start their mission against remaining al-Qaeda and Taleban forces.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the troops are now at Bagram airport near the capital, Kabul.

UK troops had been refused permission to land in Pakistan first, although an MoD spokeswoman has said "negotiations are ongoing".

The first contingent are due to be followed by a further 1,600 marines, who will work alongside US forces in flushing out remaining pockets of fighters from their
remote mountain strongholds.

The spokeswoman told BBC News Online: "There were some difficulties [with Pakistan] a few days ago but we are still in talks relating to the rest of the troops.

Marines waiting

"Troops are now in theatre who have gone by other means."

It is understood hundreds of marines were off the Pakistani coast on board HMS Ocean waiting for permission to land in Karachi.

Cabinet ministers have said the marine contingent will now stay in Afghanistan for longer than the planned three-month mission.

Jack Straw is confirming that the government has lost control of the timetable in Afghanistan

Bernard Jenkin
They have also admitted Turkey is still to commit itself to taking over the lead peacekeeping role from Britain.

The first 100 commandos will be helping to set up a base at Bagram, with an old Soviet barracks block towards the end of the airbase believed to be their
accommodation.

A dispute over where they would set up camp with Afghan coalition allies was resolved over the weekend, it was reported.

Commenting on the increased length of the mission, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: "You cannot say for certain how long it [the combat operation] is going to
last, let's be clear about that."

But he said they would not be in the country "for very long" and added: "Their purpose in Afghanistan... is a very specific purpose - to root out the remaining
al-Qaeda terrorists and once that is done, our troops will leave."

It was essential to make sure the organisation had no further capabilities to carry out terror attacks, Mr Straw said.

Speaking on BBC One's Breakfast with Frost programme on Sunday, Mr Straw said he was unsure whether Turkey would take over the lead ISAF role.

Control 'lost'

"We said we'd be there for a matter of months, as a lead authority it's going to be extended for a little while, but again in the long march of history this is a limited
operation," Mr Straw said.

Asked whether he thought Turkey would take over, Mr Straw said: "If you are asking me would I put money on them doing it, yes I would. Am I absolutely certain
they will until they've as it were signed on the dotted line? No."

Shadow defence secretary Bernard Jenkin said: "Jack Straw is confirming that the government has lost control of the timetable in Afghanistan.

"By mid-April, Britain will have over 6,000 troops on the ground. That is more than America has there now."

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US found evidence of attempts to develop WMDs in al-Qaeda lab: Franks
Monday March 25, 7:46 AM
General Tommy Franks, the commander of US troops in Afghanistan, said that while US forces found "evidence of the attempt" by al-Qaeda to develop weapons of
mass destruction, no such weapons have been found.

Franks told NBC television that US forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan, found "evidence of the attempt by (Osama) bin Laden to get his hands on weapons of mass
destruction, anthrax or a variety" of other such weapons.

"What we found in that site, and in fact what we have found in several sites," Franks told NBC's Meet the Press, "is evidence of the attempt."

"We have not yet found a place where we see weaponized weapons of mass destruction -- 'weaponized' meaning the capability to create the ingredient and then put
it in some form of delivery," he said.

"We have not found that inside Afghanistan."

A New York Times article reported Saturday that US officials believed an al-Qaeda lab under construction near Kandahar had been designed to develop anthrax
but that the US Central Command found no biological agents in the lab -- which was abandoned before being completed.

Throughout the conflict in Afghanistan, US officials have repeatedly alleged that the al-Qaeda network led by bin Laden, the chief suspect behind the September 11
attacks on the United States, was trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

US forces for months have scoured its former camps and other sites to determine the status of al-Qaeda's efforts.

The Times reported that more than 60 sites have been investigated and more than 370 samples have been taken, but only in five cases were there any apparent
indications of possible biological agents -- and then only in tiny amounts.

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Afghanistan cancels Taliban-era passports

Monday March 25, 3:22 AM

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan announced on Sunday the cancellation of all passports issued during the ousted Taliban's 1996-2001 rule in a bid to stop "foreign
terrorists" travelling on them.

In another measure to stamp out abuse of Afghan passports, the Interior Ministry said all Afghan nationals needed to have passports issued at other times updated
with a new official stamp verifying their passports' validity.

"The Taliban issued passports to members of al Qaeda and other foreign terrorists with no identity checks," Khan Mohammad Khan, head of the Interior Ministry's
Passport Office told the country's official television network.

Khan said many blank passports were also stolen during the rule of the Taliban, which was ousted by U.S.-led forces in December for harbouring Osama bin laden
and his al Qaeda network, blamed for the September 11 attacks on the United States.

"Some foreign terrorists have been arrested in different parts of the world carrying Afghan passports even though they were not Afghan citizens," Khan said.

"All Afghan nationals need to have their passports updated with a new official stamp before they can travel abroad," he added

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Afghan ex-king to return home in first half of April: reports
Sunday March 24, 9:19 PM
Afghanistan's former monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah said he would go home in the first half of April and that the surprise postponment of his departure was not
been politically motivated.

The elderly former monarch had originally been scheduled to go back to Afghanistan next week.

In separate interviews with two leading Italian newspapers, Corriere della Sera and Il Messaggero this weekend, he stressed that he was not afraid to return to his
country, from where he was forced into exile in a 1973 court coup by his cousin Mohammed Daoud.

"I will be back in Kabul in April and I would say in the first half of the month," Zahir Shah told the Corriere della Sera.

"There are no political reasons (for the delay) and probably logistical and organizational reasons," he told the daily after his Italian hosts delayed his return for almost
a month for "organizational reasons".

After landing in Kabul, the king said he would travel first to the southern city of Kandahar, then Gardez also in the south, Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and Herat in the
west.

"I have no fear; there are more dangers outside than inside Afghanistan," he told the paper in a long interview, recalling a stabbing incident against him in 1991 in his
villa north of here.

He said that Italian government would ensure his safety until he reached Kabul where local guards trained by the international security force would take over.

Zahir Shah who has lived in exile here for three decades is expected to supervise a grand tribal assemby, or Loya Jirga, in Kabul to choose an 18-month transitional
government for the war-ravaged country.

But his return was delayed for the second time this month.

He said the future of his country's relations with neighbouring Pakistan would depend on the attitude of Islamabad, which many Afghans blame for fanning war in
their country and which was the staunch backer of the Taliban regime before the September terror attacks against the United States.

"In (bilateral) relations there are always ups and downs. I consider Pakistan a brotherly country with common culture and religion," he told the Milan daily.

In his interview with the Rome daily Il Messaggero, Zahir Shah admitted he had mixed feelings about going home.

"One is that I will see ruins and places that have been destroyed that I remember from when they were solid and peaceful. Another is the amount of work and
commitment needed to enable the country to function, to clear mines and unexploded devices, to help disabled people and to re-open schools," he told the daily.

Zahir Shah said that in Kabul he would live in an ancestral house with no official residence connected with his previous role as a progressive monarch who ruled the
otherwise turbulent country under relative calm and peace.

The 87-year-old figure told the daily that he was going home to devote the remainder of his days to help rebuild his country's social fabric and re-unify its diverse
ethnic groups.

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British command of Afghanistan force to be extended: Straw
Sunday March 24, 7:27 PM
Britain will retain command of the multinational security force in Afghanistan for longer than expected, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, as questions persist over a
scheduled handover in April to Turkey.

Straw said the planned handover of command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would be delayed somewhat, adding that Turkey was still
seeking reassurances to underpin its involvement.

"We said we'd be there for a matter of months, as a lead authority it's going to be extended for a little while, but again in the long march of history this is a limited
operation," Straw told BBC television.

Straw said he could not be "absolutely certain" that Turkey would assume command of the force from Britain next month.

"But they are anxious to do it if the conditions are right. If you are asking me would I put money on them doing it, yes I would. Am I absolutely certain they will until
they've, as it were, signed on the dotted line? No."

Turkey has expressed readiness to take the helm of ISAF, but has requested financial support and clarification of the scope of the mission before any takeover.

Ankara is seeking assurances that NATO members would maintain their presence in Afghanistan and that Turkey would receive adequate logistical support in
operations.

Turkey also wants to know whether ISAF's area of responsibility would be expanded -- as requested by Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai -- or if it would
remain limited to operating in and around the capital Kabul.

Another point of concern for Ankara is the financial cost of the operation, which could pose a difficulty for the country's crisis-hit economy.

"There is an issue about the economy ... there is a separate issue about compensation for the marginal costs of running this operation in Afghanistan and they've been
in discussions about that with the United States," said Straw.

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US military confirms discovery of al-Qaeda laboratory

Sunday March 24, 4:26 PM

The US military confirmed that an unfinished al-Qaeda laboratory believed to be designed for manufacturing biological weapons has been discovered in southern
Afghanistan.

"US special forces operating in the vicinity of Kandahar found a possible al-Qaeda chemical and biological research facility," Central Command spokesman
Lieutenant Commander Matthew Klee told AFP Saturday.

The said the facility was believed to be under construction, and there was no evidence of any chemical of biological weapons production there.

"It contained some laboratory equipment and possibly was intended for use in a biological warfare production effort," Klee pointed out.

Asked if the laboratory could have been used for producing anthrax, the spokesman said the laboratory could have been used for manufacturing "just about any
kind" of biological weapon.

The discovery was first reported in the United States by the New York Times newspaper.

Throughout the conflict in Afghanistan, US officials have repeatedly alleged that the al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect behind the
September 11 attacks in the United States, was trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

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Afghans mark Muslim mourning
Sunday, 24 March, 2002, 12:28 GMT
Ashura was severely restricted under the Taleban

By Kate Clark
BBC correspondent in Kabul

Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai has joined Shia Muslims in the capital Kabul to mark the ceremony of Ashura for the first time since the fall of the Taleban.
Hussein died to protect truth and justice Hamid Karzai, Afghan interim leader Ashura is the most sombre day in the Muslim calendar, when Shias in particular mourn
the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

Hussein was killed in what is now Iraq about 1,300 years ago. "Hussein died to protect truth and justice," said Mr Karzai at a Shia Muslim mourning ceremony in
Kabul. Ceremonies this year are large-scale "He preferred martyrdom to living in shame." Under the Taleban, Ashura ceremonies were severely restricted. It was
part of what Shia Afghans felt was a general sectarianism.

Any anti-Taleban resistance in Shia areas was met with particularly harsh punishments, including house burnings and civilian killings. This year the Ashura ceremonies
in Kabul are large-scale and public. People said it was important that Mr Karzai, who is a Sunni Muslim, attended, especially when he spoke about the unity of the
Afghan nation.