Royal Marines search mountains after Australians fight gun battle

A thousand British troops were yesterday once again in the mountains of south-east Afghanistan hunting Taliban and al-Qa'ida forces after the Australian SAS and US warplanes killed a number of men regarded as hostile fighters.

However, as Condor, the third British operation in the country, got under way, there were claims that allied forces had stumbled across an inter-tribal skirmish or a wedding party firing weapons in celebration rather than the enemy.

The Royal Marines, supported by artillery and US aircraft, were sent into action four days after they had completed their last operation, Snipe, and before they were expected to be ready for their next mission after 13 gruelling days in the mountains.Snipe had ended with the blowing up of four caves full of arms and ammunition. But it was the second British operation, after Ptarmigan, to have ended without a shot being fired.

American sources said yesterday that the British had insisted on being the lead force to react to the Australian firefight, although the official allied Quick Response Force was the American 101st Airborne. However, there were several hours delay between the Australian clash, the US bombing, and the Royal Marines arriving.

At Bagram, the allied headquarters, Brigadier Roger Lane, the British task force commander, said: "The priority will be destruction or capture of the terrorists in the area. We will also aim to destroy enemy infrastructure we may find."

Local tribal leaders and Afghan security officials said that two clans, the Sabari and the Balkhiel, were skirmishing over a land dispute on a mountain near the town of Khost at the time of the allied action. Soon afterwards 10 people on both sides were killed in a bombardment by US aircraft.

Other tribal leaders said the bombing began when shots were fired, according to tribal custom, during a wedding at the village of Balkhiel.

The Australian forces spokesman, Brigadier Mike Hannan, said in Canberra that special forces had been in two firefights. "The first element came into contact yesterday afternoon and was involved in a firefight." No Australians were killed or injured, but at least one suspected enemy soldier was killed in a gun battle that lasted several hours, before the Australians withdrew. A few hours later, a second SAS group trying to link up with the first came under fire, about four miles from the original clash. "They were able to fight their way through and join up, supported by air support from the US air force, and then they were able to move to an area of safety," Major Hannan said.