Fierce fighting has raged for a fifth day in Afghanistan as the United States deployed hundreds of reinforcements for an offensive aimed at finishing off al-Qaida.

Allied Afghan commanders have sent fresh troops to aid US-led forces battling al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

US warplanes are continuing to bomb the Shah-e-Kot mountain range in eastern Afghanistan today in the largest joint US-Afghan operation of the five-month war against terrorism.

US bombers blasted the cavernous mountains of eastern Afghanistan for a third day today, pressing a new offensive against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters believed to be regrouping in the area.