U.S. claimed it killed 500, so where are the bodies?

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- As a force of 700 American and Canadian troops continued to search the battle zone, the U.S. officer heading the operation said Saturday that fewer than 20 bodies had been found on the ridge above the Shah-e-Kot Valley, where many of the remnants of al-Qaida and the Taliban made their stand.

The aftermath of the 11-day battle continued to pose vexing questions for U.S. commanders. After claims by U.S. officers that more than 500 enemy fighters had been killed, one issue has been the relatively few bodies found in the four days since the main battle ended. Since then, U.S., Afghan and Canadian troops have scoured the valley floor and ridges above.

Another mystery has been the whereabouts of fighters who might have survived the 3,250 bombs that were dropped on the battle zone by U.S. and French planes. U.S. soldiers returning to Bagram air base said only a handful of fighters, perhaps fewer than 10, have been seen moving about since the fighting ended.

The bombing continued Saturday. At the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Maj. Ralph Mills said that 52 strike sorties had been flown by coalition warplanes in the last 24 hours, with 164 bombs or missiles dropped.

Soldiers searching caves found "spider holes" in the rocks that enemy fighters could pop out of which led to an underground chamber. Inside the bunker were rocket-propelled grenade rounds and other ammunition as well as medical supplies, including IVs hanging from the cave ceiling.

Some Afghan commanders are questioning the U.S. assessment of success in the battle.

"Americans don't listen to anyone," Commander Abdul Wali Zardran said. "They do what they want. Most people escaped. You can't call that a success."

To Afghans, killing or capturing the enemy is the whole purpose of guerrilla warfare and the principal measure of success. Otherwise, they say, the opponent will fight again somewhere, someday.

"In my opinion, the campaign failed," said Commander Abdullah, a leading Afghan military figure in Paktia province. "There were some forces there but during the very heavy bombardment and air strikes they left."

Financial activity perks up

WASHINGTON -- Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has stepped up its financial activity markedly in recent weeks, suggesting some leaders are reasserting control and might be seeking to finance more attacks against U.S. interests, communications detected by U.S. intelligence show.

The communications have occurred between small groups of al-Qaida fighters and some Taliban allies, officials told the Associated Press. Much of the activity is centered in northwestern Pakistan -- near the Afghan border -- although some money and communications are going elsewhere.

"There's lots of signs al-Qaida is reconstituting itself," said Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorist chief. "Internet traffic has picked up enormously. Money is moving around. There is some evidence leadership is active."

The fate of many of al-Qaida's top commanders is unknown. While several have been killed, and a few captured, many are believed to have hidden in caves in Afghanistan to wait out the U.S. bombing campaign.

Bin Laden has been silent for months. U.S. intelligence has had vague hints he remained in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Officials have few doubts he is alive.

Cannistraro said finding bin Laden is as important as ever.

"It's pretty clear they don't know where he is, which is why (the government is) de-emphasizing the importance of him," he said.

A U.S. official told the Associated Press that while there is some evidence of al-Qaida's leadership at work, many cells are capable of conducting attacks independently. The activity in Pakistan is one of the strongest signs yet that al-Qaida is attempting to reconstitute itself. U.S. intelligence has been watching in dozens of countries for the arrival of al-Qaida fighters from Afghanistan. Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Indonesia are top prospects, officials and experts said.

The U.S. government also is tracking a new Talibanlike group in Kurdish-controlled parts of northern Iraq, although officials say they have no evidence it is tied to the Taliban or al-Qaida. The group, Ansar al-Islam, professes an extremist Islamic philosophy and has some foreign members, an official told the Associated Press.

Other developments . . .

PURPLE HEARTS AWARDED: Eight U.S. soldiers received Purple Hearts on Saturday for injuries suffered during an intense, 18-hour firefight on March 2, the first day of Operation Anaconda.

"The men standing here . . . showed their metal and their steel in the sense that they were wounded in the early morning hours and were unable to be extracted until the early evening," said Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck, commander of ground forces in Afghanistan, who placed the award on each of the men.

Honored were: Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Grippe, 39, of Frankfurt, N.Y.; Maj. Thomas Byrne, 32, of Renton, Wash.; Capt. James Taylor, 29, of Long Valley, N.J.; Capt. Timothy Gittins, 25, of Harlan, Iowa; Maj. James Hall, 41, of Greenville, S.C.; Sgt. 1st Class David Jackson, 37, of Midland, Texas; Pfc. Jack Horn, 25, of Lafayette, La.; and Pfc. Chad Ryan, whose hometown was not available.

CHILDREN RAISE $4.5-MILLION: President Bush said Saturday that U.S. children have raised $4.5-million to help Afghanistan's youth in the five months since he asked each youngster to earn $1 and send it to the White House.

POLISH TROOPS EN ROUTE: Twenty-seven Polish troops left Wroclaw Saturday bound for Kabul to join the international peacekeeping operation. The rest of the 87-strong contingent is to leave Monday.

-- Information from the New York Times and the Associated Press was used in this report.

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