Americans hunt for Chechens in Afghanistan

KABUL: They have been the stuff of nightmares for Russian troops and now US forces face the prospect of trying to combat Chechen fighters in Afghanistan who have thrown their lot in with Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

"There are a hell of a lot of them and they sure know how to fight," one senior American officer said after the conclusion of the recent offensive Operation Anaconda against diehard fighters in eastern Paktia province.

The man who led the offensive said that a large proportion of the fighters who chose to fight to the death were non-Afghans.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "called them dead-enders," said US Major General Frank Hagenbeck. "They are left with no choice but to fight." The general said coalition forces had come across fighters from Uzbekistan and northwest China, while many Pakistanis are also thought to be fighting with the Al Qaeda and Taliban.

But Chechen separatists, who have been involved in a fierce war for independence from Russia for the past 29 months, appear to make up the largest contingent of Al Qaeda's foreign legion.