More troops sent to bolster Afghan mountain battle

Afghan troops and tanks rushed to the mountain battle zone today to bolster US led coalition forces against determined pockets of al-Qaida militants fulfilling their vow to fight to the death.

‘‘I have not seen anyone surrender,’’ said Colonel Frank Wiercinski, a brigade commander in the 101st Airborne Division.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he expected the battle, dubbed Operation Anaconda, would last another seven to 10 days.

Yesterday he said it could end as early as this weekend.

US officers say 500 to 600 al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Anaconda began last week. The death toll is far higher than US estimates of the size of the entire enemy force when the operation began.

The confirmed coalition toll remained at eight US servicemen and three Afghans.

Fighting was intense today in the southern sector of the 60-square-mile area of operation was intense, said Colonel Joe Smith, chief of staff of the 10th Mountain Division.

He said al-Qaida forces had suffered ‘‘lots’’ of casualties over the past 24 hours but gave no figure.

Heavy snow blanketed the region’s mountain passes, but ground and air operations pressed on, and the rumble of heavy explosions from the battle area could be heard more than 20 miles away.

With the fight intensifying, the interim Afghan government of Hamid Karzai rushed in reinforcements, bolstering an Afghan force made up largely of militias recruited by US special forces.

The central government was sending about 1,000 new Afghan fighters to the Gardez area, of whom about 600 had already arrived, said town council member Safih Ullah. They were under the command of Gul Haider, backed by tanks and other fighting vehicles.

A convoy of 12 to 15 tanks was seen heading toward the battle zone today and an Associated Press photographer saw another convoy including trucks carrying multiple rocket launchers and other vehicles with soldiers armed with rifles and grenade launchers headed toward Gardez from Kabul.

The need for reinforcements became apparent after US commanders, relying heavily on their Afghan partners, underestimated the size of the al-Qaida force.

Afghan fighters said they were told to expect about 100-150 al-Qaida foes.

Americans wounded during recent operations gave a picture of how tough it is to uproot the hardened fighters from their mountain positions.

The three members of the 10th Mountain Division - speaking at a base in Landstuhl, Germany, where they were recuperating - said more than 100 American troops were pinned down by al-Qaida fire on Saturday in a valley until helicopters pulled them out under cover of darkness.

The soldiers were hit by bullets or mortar rounds from enemy fighters who they said were perched on overlooking ridges and ducked into caves to defy US bombers’ and helicopters’ attempts to dislodge them.

‘‘We’re fighting in their back yard,’’ added Ricardo Miranda, 20, whose right arm and left leg were heavily bandaged. ‘‘They know where every crack in that mountain is, every cubbyhole, every cave.’’

Wiercinski said that seven days into the operation, US troops were no longer seeing large groups of fighters. ‘‘They are determined. Whether you would call that martyrdom or whatever, they are still determined in their small pockets,’’ he said.