U.S. Aiding Pakistan's Hunt for Al Qaeda

The United States is providing a wide array of behind-the-scenes support to Pakistani forces combating suspected fighters for Al Qaeda near the Afghan border, including spy satellites, electronic-eavesdropping planes and sophisticated ground sensors, American officials in Washington and the region said. As part of a broader American offensive just across the rugged boundary in eastern Afghanistan, hundreds of American troops have also recently set up what the military calls “blocking positions” at strategic junctions along the frontier to trap and kill militants fleeing the Pakistani attacks. Largely from Afghanistan’s airspace or above it, a range of American military sensors are peering across the mountainous border region into Pakistan. Spy satellites zero in on suspected enemy camps. Air Force E-8C Joint Stars ground-surveillance jets and remotely piloted Predator aircraft track enemy movements. RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft scoop up cellphone calls and other electronic transmissions. U-2 spy planes soar high overhead. Full Story