Major fighting was over in the campaign to wipe out the al-Qaida and Taliban elements from eastern Afghanistan, according to the US military Sunday.
A large number of helicopters flew into an air base north of Kabul carrying troops back from the front lines.
"The major fighting of the battle is over," a US military spokesman said, but adding "operations in the area will continue."
Mud-covered soldiers back from front after eight days of fighting were greeted at tents by hugs and screams from elated fellow soldiers.
The returned soldiers said the al-Qaida had ringed the area with land mines and heavy clouds and snow had made low-level, pinpoint bombing difficult.
They added they had not expected to find as many Taliban and al-Qaida forces waiting for them when they moved into the rugged, freezing mountains of Paktia province on March 2. The air support was extraordinary and there was not a half hour during the operation when bombs weren't falling, they recalled.
However, the military said Operation Anaconda itself was not over and would continue until the last of the enemy holdouts is eliminated.
(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2002)
