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Saturday April 27, 3:50 PM Rumsfeld arrives in Afghanistan as bomb blasts rock Kabul airport US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Afghanistan for talks with military leaders coordinating the war against remaining Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. He was greeted by Major General Frank Hagenbeck, the US commander of coalition forces, at this former Soviet base some 50 kilometres (31 Miles) north of the Afghan capital Kabul where three explosions had rocked the international airport overnight. He was also met by Brigadier Roger Lane, the head of the British task force which began deploying here last month. Rumsfeld was due to address some of the 3,000 American troops based at Bagram and was then expected to fly to Kabul to hold talks with interim cabinet leader Hamid Karzai and Defence Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim. It is his second trip to Afghanistan since the Taliban regime collapsed in November and came just hours after three explosions rocked Kabul's international airport. "There were three explosions at the airport last night (Friday). There were no injuries," said Major Karen Daly, a British spokeswoman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Anonymous ISAF sources told AFP that the explosions were caused by three rockets launched close to the airport late Friday. The sources said the target of the attack was not clear, but British and French troops based near the airport had been put on full alert following the blasts. Two of the rockets, which were all fired within the space of five minutes, passed over an ISAF base, the sources said, adding that ballistic studies were underway to determine their origin. "They probably came from several kilometres (miles) from the airport," they said. Rumsfeld had arrived in Afghanistan from Kyrgyzstan where he had thanked President Askar Akayev for his country's support to the US-led anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan. "Thank you for the wonderful cooperation we are receiving with the use of the base in Manas," Rumsfeld said, referring to the military airbase near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek where 1,900 anti-terrorist coalition troops are based. The base, 1,000 kilometres (630 miles) north of Afghanistan, was particularly helpful as it allowed regular flight missions to make their way to that country, he added. "From Manas, aircraft are able to fly to Afghanistan, refuel and conduct operations to prevent al-Qaeda and Taliban from threatening the Afghan government," he said. Akayev praised the anti-terrorist operation in Central Asia, which "would make the new process (in Afghanistan) irreversible." This was "an important aspect of regional security" for Central Asia, he added. On Friday, Rumsfeld warned international troops based in Kyrgyzstan that the military effort in Afghanistan was far from over. "Your task, I'm afraid, is going to last for a while. It is not to end soon," he told US and other troops deployed at the Manas air base. Rumsfeld said coalition forces would remain in the former Soviet republic "as long as necessary." A total of 1,900 soldiers from the United States, Australia, France, South Korea, Denmark, Spain, Norway and the Netherlands are based in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country near Afghanistan although they do not share a common border. US and coalition troops are also based in two other Central Asian states, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
