Canadian Forces Engaged In Light Combat
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check in on Operation Anaconda, the U.S.-led military campaign staking way across the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan. With major enemy resistance all but crushed there now, coalition forces have turned their attention to tracking down the fleeing al Qaeda and Taliban troops and leaders. CNN's Martin Savidge is at Bagram Air Base, which has been a hub of the mission. He has more.</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the background, a reminder of the previous wars that have torn Afghanistan, an old Soviet fighter. The Soviets didn't have a lot of luck here, Coalition forces seem to be doing a lot better. This is day 14, or the second week of Operation Anaconda. Not bad for the operation originally scheduled to last 72 hours. Military leaders say that is not a bad thing. It means they found more al Qaeda and Taliban to destroy than originally projected. They had initially thought there might be 150 to 200 Taliban fighters. Instead, they say, at the peak of the battle, there may have been as many as 1,000. They claim as many as 800 now have been destroyed. Ongoing right now is what is described as sensitive site exploitation. It has been happening now for the past two days. Canadian forces, as well as members of the 10th Mountain Division are going into caves, going into abandoned compounds, going into areas to try to seek out information that may have been hastily left behind, and they say they are finding it. They also say they are finding large supplies of weapons. The heavy weapons, they are destroying, the small arms weapons they are keeping and turning over to the Afghan military, since Afghanistan is building its own army. There was a small fire fight that took place out on a mountain ridge referred to as the Whale. Canadian forces were involved in that. There were no casualties on the part of coalition forces. Apparently, there was a small number of Taliban or al Qaeda forces that took them on. They broke contact after some time, and apparently those enemy forces, as they are referred to here, managed to get away. Operation Anaconda, going on with no real end in sight, day 14. Martin Savidge, CNN, Bagram, Afghanistan.