Marines in new Afghan battle

Operation Snipe has been judged a success by British military officials

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- A British-led force of about 1,000 troops is battling a "substantial force" of suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

The top British commander in the coalition, Brig. Roger Lane, said a force of mostly British marines was mounting a large-scale offensive named "Operation Condor."

The troops were sent to eastern Paktia province after an Australian special forces patrol came under fire on Thursday.

No coalition casualties were reported but some enemy fighters have been killed, Lane said.

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"I can confirm that the coalition has made contact with the enemy and that some have been killed," Lane said. "A number of attacks by air have been conducted."

Meanwhile the number of British troops and personnel at Bagram field hospital who have become ill with a mystery illness has increased by 20 from 18 to 38, defence ministry officials said on Friday. (Full story)

One is seriously ill and is being flown back to Britain, officials said, bringing the total number of those who have been airlifted to Europe to eight.

Tests are still being carried out to determine what the illness is, which shows the symptoms of severe diarrhoea, vomiting and a high fever.

Australian and American forces are also involved in Operation Condor, Lane added.

"I've deployed elements of 45 Commando group equipped with the full range of combat power by air and by road to close with the enemy and destroy them in an area historically used by the Taliban," Lane said.

He said the Australian special forces patrol "was interdicted and shot at from a number of locations, and the battle group is now going to close with them and kill the enemy."

Lane declined to say how many enemy fighters there were, but said "it is clear that it is a substantial enemy force" and coalition forces, backed by artillery, had identified a number of enemy positions to target.

Lane said the fighting was taking place in a mountainous area at an altitude of 2,400 metres (8,000 feet), but declined to be more specific.

CNN's Mike Boettcher said the British Royal Marines had not expected to be in action so quickly after the end of their two-week sweep of the mountains named Operation Snipe.

Boettcher said the marines were back at base refitting and retooling after that operation.

British forces said they had dealt a "significant blow" to al Qaeda's ability to mount future terrorist strikes by blowing up a huge ammunition dump located in several caves in Paktia province.

Operation Snipe involved about 1,000 British and Afghan troops and was backed by American air support and special operations soldiers.

The U.S.-led coalition has been stepping up its search in eastern Afghanistan for al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts, who they say have dispersed into small groups and blended in with local residents or fled across the border to neighbouring Pakistan.

Details of the new mission came a day after Britain's Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon admitted the troops had been "frustrated" until now by the absence of any direct contact with Taliban or al Qaeda forces.