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| Attack on Terrorism - Asia |
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| Allied troops in Khost hit as guerrillas launch attack By Charles Clover in Kabul Published: March 21 2002 16:32GMT | Last Updated: March 21 2002 18:24GMT |
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 One American soldier and several US-allied Afghan fighters were injured after they were attacked in Khost, eastern Afghanistan. The US military described the attackers as al-Qaeda and Taliban guerrillas. Khost borders Paktia province, where the US fought a bloody 17-day battle that ended this week, and many guerrillas are believed to have escaped to Khost. "Terrorists using machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars attacked coalition forces in Khost. We returned fire and continue to develop the situation as we speak," said Major Bryan Hilferty, a US military spokesman, at Bagram airbase yesterday. Ayub Khan, a Khost militia commander, said US forces had pinpointed the positions of attackers and had begun air strikes. He claimed three Afghan soldiers had been killed in the fighting. Meanwhile, in what appeared to be a separate incident, fighting broke out in Khost between forces of two commanders, Kamal Khan and Padshah Khan, who are brothers. Ayub Khan, who is loyal to Padshah Khan, described this as a misunderstanding which was solved after the brothers met. He said the incident was unrelated to the attacks on US-Afghan forces. Nazir Mohammed, an assistant to Zakim Khan, a commander in Khost, said that shops in the city were closed yesterday. "I don't know who started fighting first," he said. "Kamal Khan and Padshah Khan forces started fighting, and two people from Padshah Khan's side were injured. I don't know about any Americans." The tribal situation in Khost province is riven with rivalries and blood feuds. On March 10 a key deputy of Zakim Khan was murdered by Kamal Khan's soldiers, according to Kamal Khan's nephew Abdul Wali. Both Kamal Khan and Zakim Khan were fighting for the US in the 17-day campaign in the nearby Shah-i-kot valley. Earlier this week, according to the Associated Press, gunmen challenging the authority of Khost's newly appointed police chief exchanged fire with security forces, killing one person and injuring three others. US soldiers work with local tribes, paying them, and - according to Afghan commanders - arming them to do much of the fighting against al-Qaeda. Occasionally they get caught in the middle of warlords' battles. The first American soldier to die from hostile fire in Afghanistan was in Khost. Local commanders said this was the result of tribal violence rather than al-Qaeda guerrillas. The escalating level of violence in the provinces has led many to fear for the future of Afghanistan's frag ile peace process, begun in Bonn last December. The United Nations special representative to Kabul yesterday expressed hope that the US-led war on terror would not become an obstacle to the UN-led peace process in Afghanistan. "We recognise the necessity and the legitimacy of why this has started," he said at a press conference yesterday. "However, we share the anguish and concern about some of the negative effects, and - this is a horrible word - collateral damage. This is a source of concern to everyone, not least the Americans. "We very much hope the reconstruction can take place, and hope it will gather momentum. . . The work of the coalition is not part of our operation, and I hope it will not stand in the way of our operation." |