WASHINGTON - A United States military refueling plane crashed into a mountain in Pakistan yesterday while trying to land at a base used by American forces fighting in Afghanistan, killing all seven Marines on board.
The KC-130, supporting the war in Afghanistan, crashed while making a landing approach at Shamsi.
The flight from Jacobabad, Pakistan, was on a multi-stop supply run when it crashed at an altitude of about 914m, making search and rescue efforts difficult.
The Pentagon called the crash an accident and said it was under investigation.
The $US37 million ($87.12m) KC-130R can be used for multiple missions including refueling and transport of troops and supplies.
US warplanes again struck a huge al Qaeda guerrilla cave complex in eastern Afghanistan as the American military prepared to fly prisoners to the US Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
US warplanes again bombed the Zhawar Kili cave complex, where members of al Qaeda had tried to regroup.
US military reconnaissance discovered a massive network of caves and tunnels at the Zhawar Kili camp, which officials say could cover up to 16ha. The US has found weapons, ammunition and military machinery there.
Meanwhile, seven Taleban ministers and officials who had surrendered to a US-backed warlord have been allowed to go free and will not be handed over to the American authorities.
Washington and the interim Afghan government are said to be alarmed by the decision of the Kandahar Governor, Gul Agha, to free the men. It was expected they would be put in American custody and questioned about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar.
American officials were quick to publicise the surrender of the Taleban officials. They included Mullah Ubaidullah, the defence minister, and Nooruddin Turabi, the one-eyed, one-legged justice minister
There is increasing concern at deals being done by Pashtun commanders and tribal leaders with Taleban chiefs at local levels without Kabul or Washington involvment. There are allegations of bribery in return for lenient terms for the Taliban and questions about where exactly the loyalty of the "government supporting" leaders lie.
Agha was prominent in conducting negotiations with Omar for his surrender when he was supposedly trapped in the Baghran region north of Kandahar. That ended on a farcical note with the commander announcing that the one-eyed mullah had slipped the net, riding off on a motorcycle.
Pentagon officials have indicated that America's military presence in Central Asia could last for years to come.
Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defence in Washington, told the New York Times that the staffing of air bases in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan was likely to be expanded into increased programmes of co-operation and training with local military commands. "Their functions may be more political than actually military."
- REUTERS, INDEPENDENT
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