U.S. troops in Afghanistan still face dangers

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- They are a fraction of the U.S. strength assembled in Iraq, and the enemy is more of a guerrilla force than disciplined troops. But Afghanistan remains a treacherous theater for American troops waging war against terrorism.

Sunday's deaths of six Air Force airmen in a helicopter crash while trying to rescue two injured Afghan children offered a reminder that American troops, while facing a different task than in Iraq, remain in harm's way here, too.

On Tuesday, hundreds of soldiers honored the dead helicopter crewmen in a somber ceremony.

Eighteen months after first attacking Afghanistan to uproot the al-Qaida terrorist network and the ruling Taliban regime, an 11,500-strong multinational coalition remains deeply engaged.

The troops face challenges that a postwar force also may meet in Iraq -- hunting residual enemy forces while bringing aid to the people.

Military officials say the coalition is winning the battle against rebels in Afghanistan. They say the number of roadside ambushes, rocket attacks and shootouts have declined in the last few months.

Every day, combat jets roar into Bagram air base, the coalition command center, from scouting patrols or air support tasks. Troops on search-and-destroy missions fan out in the mountains and villages, and medical helicopters ferry back wounded or ailing Afghan civilians.

Weapons sweep

The troops, while focused on the job at hand, also watch the war in Iraq on television. They know the risks, and some expect high numbers of U.S. casualties.

"If you are a soldier and you are going into a combat situation there's the potential for you to be killed, or wounded or captured," said Col. Roger King, an Army spokesman at the Bagram base. "Everybody recognizes that as a reality."

The Iraq campaign is more conventional, with a huge force plowing through the desert sand toward Baghdad.

In Afghanistan, the most prevalent challenge involves seeking guerrillas hiding in mountainside redoubts. There have been dozens of rebel rocket attacks since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001, but no coalition forces have been killed or wounded in them, King said.

Since Thursday, U.S.-led ground troops have intensified Operation Valiant Strike, searching Afghanistan's cave complexes hunting for rebels.

They withstood searing heat in the Sami Ghar mountains, but so far have found only weapons caches and made a few arrests, but not of militants.

In the sweep, accompanied by a reporter from Associated Press Television News, U.S. troops searching for weapons frisked elderly Afghan men and boys. Soldiers ducked their heads to enter dark mud-brick homes, prodded haystacks with steel pokers and scanned tilled soil with metal detectors.

Parallel to these military operations, civil affairs squads visit villages to try to befriend residents and explain the anti-terror mission. They hope to build support for the fragile U.S.-backed regime of President Hamid Karzai and wean Afghans accustomed to decades of war from their fear of instability.

Some Afghan militant groups vowed to step up attacks against the coalition if war broke out in Iraq, hoping to energize anti-U.S. sentiment and portray Washington's campaign against Muslim-dominated Iraq as a war on Islam.

Troops here say they are not unduly concerned by such threats, and recognize the risks of the operations.

"Being here is fun. It's enlightening. It's my job," said Senior Airman Ben Grimm, 25, an air combat support controller. "As morose as it may sound, most of us enjoy the idea of exercising our skill on the battleground."