U.S. Forces on Ground in Afghanistan

Oct. 19, 2001 -- U.S. special forces, including Army Rangers and helicopters, have engaged Taliban forces in battle in Afghanistan, sources told ABCNEWS.

The operation is in addition to the small number of elite troops also on the ground in Afghanistan that are attempting to forge political and military links with opposition groups fighting the Taliban.

Defense officials declined to reveal details of the ground action.

There have been reports of U.S. troops operating in Afghanistan since the military campaign began, but sources say this "handful" of operatives is working with intelligence operatives on establishing ties with opposition groups for a possible postwar government.

They are not thought to be conducting the same mission as reconnaissance teams who are believed to have been moving in and out of the country providing targeting information since the Oct. 7 raids began.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged U.S. forces were working closely with the Northern Alliance, saying "There is good coordination from the air with the ground in some places, particularly in the north. There is not that kind of coordination as of yet in the south."

A Northern Alliance commander said eight U.S. personnel are in northern Afghanistan and have been traveling with warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum.

"Yes, they are with Gen. Dostum in Dara-i-Suf [55 miles southeast of the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif]," Ustad Attah Mohammad told Reuters. "There are eight of them and they came by helicopter some time back. The helicopters went back and these men look to be reconnaissance or intelligence rather than ground troops."

‘We Are Ready for Them’

Word of new U.S. personnel in Afghanistan drew a defiant response from the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, who said, "We are ready for them," when asked about the possibility of U.S. troops in the country.

Zaeef was returning from meetings with the Taliban regime's leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and Osama bin Laden. He told reporters in Quetta, Pakistan, he "brought a plan with [him]," which he said he would disclose after meeting with Pakistani officials.

But Zaeef dashed any hopes that the fundamentalist Islamic regime would turn over bin Laden and the members of his al Qaeda network who have been hiding in Afghanistan.

"The issue of Osama has not changed," he said. "It is a matter of our faith, we might as well change our faith."

Bush, Jiang Zemin Meet

Meanwhile, President Bush, in Shanghai for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, met Chinese President Jiang Zemin for the first time today, and both leaders came away from the three hours of discussions speaking warmly of improved relations between the two nations.

China has been supportive of U.S. calls for an international anti-terrorism effort, despite the traditionally rocky relationship between Beijing and Washington.

China is not directly involved in the U.S. military campaign, although it does share a border with Afghanistan. But China holds a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and could be an important long-term U.S. partner in its war on terrorism.

Questions from Muslim Moderates

The meeting got Bush's visit to the summit off to a good start, but a tougher challenge could face him when he meets senior representatives of Malaysia, a predominantly Islamic nation that has repeatedly expressed concern about the effects of the bombing campaign on Afghan civilians.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Syed Hamid Albar said at a news conference today he will call for the summit participants to review U.S. actions, and said Washington needs to make sure it is waging war on terrorists, not Islam and civilians in Afghanistan: "We informed our U.S. colleagues that we support the action to fight terrorism and that we are together in this fight, but we are concerned with what is happening in Afghanistan."

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, also in China for the APEC meeting in Shanghai, met today with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda to discuss concerns in the Southeast Asian nation about civilian casualties.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country, but it is led by a secular president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, who has spoken out in support of the United States despite pressure at home. Some 10,000 people protested the U.S. bombing campaign today in Jakarta, the capital.

Powell told Wirajuda he welcomed remarks made by Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz, the leader of the country's largest Muslim party, in response to the massive, though peaceful, demonstration.

"We're facing an extraordinary dilemma," Haz said. "If we make a wrong step we can fall into a ravine. … Therefore I'm asking our Muslim people to stop demonstrating. I'm afraid if our actions do not express that Islam is grace from Allah, the name of Islam will be destroyed."

While the summit is expected to focus mainly on economic issues, Bush will also have one-on-one meetings with the leaders of several nations to build support for the U.S.-led coalition, including Malaysia, Japan, Brunei, Singapore and Peru. And on Sunday, Bush will meet with Russian President Vladmir Putin.

Conflicting Casualty Claims

While the U.S. bombing runs, which continued today despite indications they might be eased in respect of the Muslim sabbath, have taken a significant toll on Taliban air defenses, supplies and on terrorist training camps, reports of civilian casualties in Afghanistan are mounting.

The Taliban claims that 600 to 900 civilians have been killed in the airstrikes, and that the number of wounded is in the thousands.

There has been no independent confirmation of civilian casualties approaching anywhere near those numbers, though U.S. officials have admitted that on at least two occasions bombs have gone astray.

And there are conflicting accounts about how much damage the bombing is doing to Taliban targets at this point.

U.S. diplomatic sources in Pakistan say it appears Omar has lost contact with his military commanders, a sign of significant damage to the Taliban's infrastructure.

But relief workers still operating in the capital, Kabul, say much of what the United States is hitting there is "junk" — old military hardware — and that the Taliban forces have successfully hidden most of their key military assets and personnel. The relief workers also describe Taliban morale as high due to the low number of military casualties.

Refugees Leaving Kandahar

In other developments:

Thousands of refugees headed to the Afghan border today. U.N. officials say a large portion are coming from the area around the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

New York City officials have updated the number of victims from the attacks on the World Trade Center. The new numbers are: 4,515 reported missing and 458 bodies recovered, 408 of which have been identified.