US forces secure Kabul embassy

The US embassy was abandoned twelve years ago

US marines have moved back into the abandoned grounds of the American embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, 12 years after the mission was closed.

A military spokesman said the marines would provide security for State Department officials who have come to assess the situation.

But Major Victor Harris told reporters no timetable had been set for the re-opening of the diplomatic mission.

The marines' arrival marks the first known American military presence in Kabul, where an interim government is due to assume power later this month under a United Nations accord.

Elite US soldiers arrived from Bagram airbase

However, Major Harris stressed the presence of the marines was not related to the international security force which is to be sent to Afghanistan as part of the UN agreement.

The US soldiers arrived from Bagram airbase north of Kabul, where the Americans have a contingent of elite troops.

Several marines, armed with machine guns, took up positions behind sandbags on the roof of the embassy building.

Major Harris said a team of explosives experts had swept through the grounds of the embassy but found no mines or booby-traps.

The US mission has been closed since 1989 when the Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

The compound was attacked in late September by a mob of anti-US protesters who set the guardhouse ablaze while Taleban police looked on.

Diplomats return

Since the fall of the Taleban in November, the grounds have been protected by a handful of Northern Alliance soldiers.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week his country's diplomats would return to Kabul soon.

Several other countries are also preparing to re-establish a diplomatic presence in the Afghan capital.

Iran has already re-opened its embassy in Kabul, while other countries, including Russia, India, and Britain, have sent diplomatic assessment teams.