US forces abandon site of Afghan attack

Those forces have fought some of their most difficult battles in Kunar and Nuristan Provinces, with their thickly forested mountainsides and steep ravines. Guerrillas mount ambushes and rocket attacks from the mountains and then easily escape.

Locals have been angered by civilian casualties caused by American airstrikes aimed at militants, and some now may be cooperating with the militants, Afghan officials said.

Rahmatullah Rashidi, leader of the provincial council of Nuristan, said some insurgents occupied Wanat on Tuesday, immediately after American and Afghan troops had withdrawn. “They were up in the forest not far away,” he said. But on Wednesday, he added, a council of village elders persuaded the Taliban to leave, saying they feared that the Taliban’s presence would draw more fighting.

The local police, who pulled out on Tuesday with the American force, returned to Wanat on Wednesday with the support of the tribal elders, Rashidi said. Agencies quoted Omar Sami Taza, an official in the provincial governor’s office, confirming that the area had fallen to the Taliban.

NATO officials described the area as part of Kunar, but in the Afghan Government the district falls under the jurisdiction of neighbouring Nuristan. They played down the pullout and did not confirm that Taliban forces had moved into Wanat.

In Kabul, Captain Mike Finney, a spokesman for the NATO force, said that “the citizens in Wanat and northern Kunar Province can be assured” that NATO and Afghan troops would continue to patrol the district and maintain “a strong presence in the area”.

“We are committed, now more than ever, to establishing a secure environment that will allow even greater opportunities for development and a stronger Afghan governmental influence,” he added.

Only 45 US soldiers and 25 Afghans had occupied the Wanat outpost for a few days before the attack. Far outnumbered by militants, the force was nearly overrun and fought a four-hour battle before the Taliban were repelled. In addition to the nine American deaths, 15 US soldiers were wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were wounded.

At the Pentagon, Defence Secretary Robert M Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that the attack, and other recent cross-border strikes, underscored the need for more allied troops in Afghanistan and more aggressive action by Pakistani security forces on the other side of the border.

“There is no question that the absence of pressure on the Pakistani side of the border is creating an opportunity for more people to cross the border and to launch attacks,” Gates told reporters. “There is a real need to do something on the Pakistani side of the border to bring pressure to bear on the Taliban and some of these other violent groups.”

Mullen said the attacks probably foreshadowed even greater cross-border violence. “We see this threat accelerating,” said Mullen, who met with senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Saturday.

The Bush administration is considering the withdrawal of more combat forces from Iraq beginning in September.