Fighter jets pound mountains as offensive slows

US fighter jets pounded the mountains of eastern Afghanistan today, unleashing a massive barrage intended to wipe out any remnants of al-Qaida fugitives hiding in the region’s caves.

Hundreds of weary US soldiers descended from the Afghan mountains after a gruelling battle against al-Qaida forces as the US army said ground fighting was slowing down.

‘‘We don’t know how many al-Qaida are still alive,’’ said Afghan Commander Mohammed Ismail Khan. ‘‘The bombing has been so strong I don’t know how anyone can survive.’’

American forces taking part in Operation Anaconda pledged to fight on until the last of the fugitives had surrendered or died in the Shah-e-Kot mountains.

‘‘The al-Qaida and Taliban extremists seem to be in much smaller pockets now - not the larger groups that we saw the first few days,’’ said Major Bryan Hilferty, a US military spokesman. ‘‘We will continue to work our way through the area until we are satisfied we have taken out all of the al-Qaida terrorists.’’

Five US-allied Afghan soldiers were wounded in the last 24 hours, but coalition forces reported little fighting and no sustained fire from the al-Qaida fighters for the past four days, Hilferty said.

Operation Anaconda was launched on March 2 to crush al-Qaida and Taliban forces in the mountains of Paktia province. US officials said the operation would continue until the last of the enemy troops surrendered or died.

In the town of Gardez, an Afghan commander, Ismail, said al-Qaida and Taliban forces in the area were ‘‘75% spent,’’ and he expected a final push within the next two days.

Coalition forces said they killed at least 500 fighters and that they believed about 200 were left. Eight Americans and three of their Afghan allies died.

Ismail said American officers told him to wait for more bombing to soften up the last of the enemy forces. Late yesterday, the roar of US jets and the distant thud of explosions could be heard from the battle area.

‘‘They were defeated by these bombs,’’ Ismail said of the al-Qaida and Taliban foes.

Ismail said that in the past two days, Australian commandos and vehicles had been dropped into the battle area, presumably to search for small pockets of al-Qaida members who might try to slip away through narrow gorges.

The leader of Afghanistan’s interim government, Hamid Karzai, sent up to 1,000 additional troops to the region, which he called the ‘‘last main base’’ of al-Qaida and Taliban in Afghanistan.