Al-Qaida fighters evaded US siege, Afghans claim

Afghan commanders yesterday cast doubt on the success of the US military operation in the mountains at Shah-i-Kot when they admitted that hundreds of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters had escaped during the 12-day assault.
US military officials have repeatedly said that they killed at least 500 fighters in their bombing campaign and ground operations, but yesterday at the village of Shah-i-Kot, the heart of the battle, there was little evidence to match their claims.

Three badly disfigured bodies lay by deep craters at the side of the village. One man, wearing camouflage trousers and boots, lay twisted on his side, a thin, silver ring still on his finger. The two other bodies were burned beyond recognition.

Further on, surrounded by minefields, the handful of mud-hut compounds which made up the village had been torn to rubble by days of heavy pounding from B-52 and B-1 bombers. But nearly all the Taliban and al-Qaida fighters appeared to have fled the area.