Marines find large cache of al-Qa'ida weapons

A patrol of 20 Royal Marines has seized guns, bazookas, ammunition and bomb-making equipment belonging to al-Qa'ida or the Taliban in what is the biggest weapons cache yet uncovered in Afghanistan.

But any delight in the discovery was tempered by the revelation that nearly twice as many weapons had been removed from the spot three weeks ago, another indication that allied forces are still one step behind their quarry.

The discovery was made by Zulu company on Saturday morning at a village house in Sur Wipan, in south-eastern Afghanistan. Army officers are questioning a dozen armed men who were present in the compound where the cache was hidden.

Among the items found in the house were loaded assault rifles, mortars, grenades, plastic explosive, detonators, bomb-making kits, recoilless rifles, Chinese-made rockets and launchers, anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank guns, bazookas and 65,000 rounds of ammunition. Much of the equipment was new.

The patrol commander, Sergeant Ryan, said one room had been stacked to the roof with weapons hidden behind a curtain. He said: "In the last room, there was a curtain. When I pulled it back, it was like, 'Oh, my God'. It was stacked up to the roof with weapons and ammunition. There was a 120mm mortar ­ and nobody needs those for village defence. I believe it belonged to al-Qa'ida."

Sgt Ryan said that the villagers had told the Marines that enough arms to fill five trucks had been stored but recently some men had taken most of it away. However, the remainder still amounted to nearly two truckloads.

"This is the first time we have really come across a weapons arsenal," said Sgt Ryan. "We frequently find ammunition but this was machine-gun ammunition, anti-tank weapons, rockets and plastic explosives. All were in good condition. That's what makes you think its not a local warlord's weapons pile."

"Everyone has an AK-47, but this was bomb-making equipment. Without a doubt they are ex-al-Qa'ida or Taliban weapons." The troops also found a potentially lethal boobytrap: a grenade wedged between two ammunition boxes tied by fishing wire to another box. Bomb-disposal experts defused the device.

Some weapons will be destroyed and others handed to the new Afghan army.