The U.S. military said on Friday it had expanded operations in southern Afghanistan in the past week in an area where fugitive leaders of the ousted Taliban regime could be hiding. U.S. military spokesman Colonel Roger King said troops primarily from the U.S. 82nd Airborne division launched Operation Viper several days ago in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold until the fundamentalist movement was thrown out of power by a U.S.-led coalition in late 2001. King told a news briefing at Bagram, the U.S. headquarters north of Kabul, that seven suspected Taliban members had been detained in connection with the operations in the last 24 hours, but no shots had been fired. He was not specific when asked if the operations were aimed at capturing fugitive Taliban leaders, who include the group’s chief Mullah Mohammad Omar. “I would say that we have indications that it might be worth our while to look in Helmand Valley,” he said. “And one of the things we always look for are former Taliban leadership, so you can do your own extrapolation.” Full Story
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