Afghan mission yields gun find

Afghan mission yields gun find

It is the largest cache of weapons found for months

US troops say they have seized an "extremely large" weapons cache and captured at least four suspected rebels, on the third day of a major operation in Afghanistan.

The seizure is part of an offensive code-named Operation Valiant Shield which, according to a US army spokesman, began in earnest late on Wednesday after US troops were fired on by six attackers.

US-led troops have been combing the ravines of the southern Sami Ghar mountains, south of Kandahar, in search of remnants of the Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters.

"We found an extremely large cache today," said Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shields, speaking at Bagram air base, north of Kabul.

"To put it in perspective, we're still counting."

He said the find included heavy-duty machine guns, rockets and launchers, mortars, anti-tank mines and thousands of rounds of ammunition - one of the biggest discoveries in months.

Mr Shields said two men were apprehended on Friday followed by at least two more on Saturday, but gave no details about their identities or the circumstances of their capture.

Operation Valiant Shield, involving 1,000 military personnel, has seen a massive air assault on the region followed by a land offensive.

Troops have been sweeping the area, conducting "village clearing" operations, trying to collect intelligence and identifying potential hide-out places for rebels.

'Full-spectrum operations'

They are also seeking loyalists of local renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the US has branded a terrorist.

Mr Shields denied the operation was timed to coincide with the US-led attack on Iraq.

"There is no link to the war on Iraq.

"That said, this sends a really powerful message that we're not backing off in Afghanistan that we're fully capable of full-spectrum large combat operations," he told AFP news agency.