Al Qaeda camp bombed again

SUMMARY:

A U.S. airstrike targeted a compound in eastern Afghanistan first hit by U.S. cruise missiles in 1998. The Pentagon said the compound was being used again by the al Qaeda terrorist network.

In the region where U.S. Special Forces are searching for Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, heavily armed Taliban fighters were trying on Thursday to negotiate a surrender to avoid a standoff with anti-Taliban forces in Helmand province, about 120 miles northwest of Kandahar.

UPDATE:

The airstrike by B-1 bombers, F-18 fighter jets and AC-130 gunships near Khowst took place around 8 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. EST). U.S. intelligence has identified a pocket of Taliban and al Qaeda resistance in the area, numbering perhaps hundreds of fighters, several military sources told CNN Thursday. (Full story)

About 1,500 Taliban fighters are in the Baghran district in northern Helmand, having fled Kandahar after the city fell to anti-Taliban forces late last year. U.S. Special Forces teams are also in the area searching for Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. (Full story)

The former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan was detained Thursday by Pakistani intelligence officials, his secretary said. Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was detained by men his secretary described as Pakistani intelligence agents, who came to his house in Islamabad around 1 p.m. local time and left a short time later with the former ambassador. (Full story)

At Kandahar airport, 25 more suspected al Qaeda fighters arrived overnight, bringing to 225 the number of detainees being held by U.S. Marines there. A total of 248 prisoners are being held by the United States. (Full story)

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is ready to present to President Bush a plan on how to conduct the trials of suspected Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists, according to administration sources. According to the sources, Rumsfeld wants to have several key principles followed and will send a plan to Bush for final approval. (Full story)



		• Summary • Update • Key questions • Who's who • Impact



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RESOURCES

	On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands?

	On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

In another development, a senior administration official told CNN Thursday that President Bush has invited Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim government chairman, to visit Washington and meet with him at the White House. The official said no date has been set, but the target is sometime in February. (Full story)

The head of intelligence under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has been killed, an official of the new government in Kabul told CNN Wednesday. Abdullah Tawheedi, a deputy head of intelligence in the interim administration., said Qari Ahmadullah was killed in a bombing two or three days ago. He said people had identified the body, and Ahmadullah's remains had been buried in his hometown in Ghazni province. (Full story)

In an unprecedented display of cooperation between Pakistan's central government and tribal leaders along the border with Afghanistan, tribal militia members were working with Pakistani troops to watch for al Qaeda members attempting to flee Afghanistan. So far, Pakistani forces around Parachinar have arrested almost 200 al Qaeda members.

KEY QUESTIONS:

Who are the key members of the newly installed Afghan interim government? (Click here for more)

Now that the last Taliban stronghold has fallen, will its fleeing members still pose a threat?

Where is Mullah Mohammed Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban?

What kind of permanent government will eventually rule Afghanistan?

How will a multinational peacekeeping force be received in war-weary Afghanistan?

How long will the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan last?

What is the goal of the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan? What is the key to the mission's success?

WHO'S WHO:

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Hamid Karzai: A Pashtun tribal leader and the chairman of Afghanistan's interim government.

Osama bin Laden: A wealthy Saudi expatriate living in Afghanistan who U.S. authorities cite as one of the primary suspects in masterminding the attacks.

Condoleezza Rice: U.S. national security adviser.

Colin Powell: U.S. secretary of state. A former Army general, Powell also served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Gen. Richard B. Myers: Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Gen. Tommy Franks: Head of U.S. Central Command.

Donald Rumsfeld: U.S. secretary of defense.

The Taliban: A group of Islamic fundamentalists, mainly from Afghanistan's Pashtun ethnic group, which is the country's largest ethnic group. The Taliban that gained control of most of the country by 1997 and instituted an extreme form of Islamic law.

Northern Alliance: A group of former mujahedeen fighters, mainly from minority ethnic groups that oppose the Taliban.

George Robertson: NATO secretary-general and former British defense minister.

George Tenet: CIA director

IMPACT:

The military attacks that began October 7 mark the start of what the Bush administration says will be a lengthy struggle against terrorist organizations worldwide -- one that could take years.