Special forces prepare for more land attacks

American special forces are preparing for more attacks in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said yesterday just hours after teams of elite paratroopers struck two targets in the south of the country.

More than 100 troops dropped into enemy territory and carried out pre-dawn "hit-and-run missions" on targets close to the city of Kandahar, taking on Taliban fighters at both.

Revealing in the most clear terms that the long-anticipated ground war was under way, the Pentagon screened a series of video sequences showing special forces soldiers dropping into southern Afghanistan, securing a target and blowing up an arms dump.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, also warned of further actions. "We met resistance at both objectives, the airfield and the other objective, but I guess you would characterise it as light," he said. He added: "They are now refitting and repositioning for potential future operations against terrorist targets in other areas known to harbor terrorists."

The raids were carried out early yesterday morning with the special forces targeting the Kandahar's airfield and a "command and control site" formerly used by the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. In a briefing at the Pentagon, the general said the soldiers had encountered light resistance but not seen any senior Taliban commanders. He said the operations were designed to gather "intelligence". Separate reports said up to 25 Taliban fighters may have been killed.

The general added that the operation had resulted in two soldiers being wounded. Two helicopter personnel who were on standby as part of a support operation were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed inside Pakistan. The Pentagon denied Taliban claims that it had shot the helicopter down. "It's pretty well established that the Taliban lie," said the general.