Largest Afghan campaign since Anaconda ends

Sweep nets 11 suspects; 2 may have Western passports

Soldiers from the 82nd Airbourne Division took part in Mountain Sweep

ZORMAT, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A weeklong U.S. air assault mission in eastern Afghanistan wrapped up Sunday with at least one of its primary targets at large, U.S. Army sources said.

Some 1,000 troops participated in Operation Mountain Sweep, which was launched August 18 from air bases in Kandahar and Bagram. The military said it was the largest operation in Afghanistan since Operation Anaconda in March.

The military's stated objective for the latest operation was to prevent the re-emergence of terrorist activity in the area, but its focus was on targeting two suspected terror activists.

The troops were unsuccessful in catching a suspected al Qaeda financier. The status of the other target, a Taliban intelligence officer in the Khost region, was unclear.

Forces did capture at least 11 suspected lower-level Taliban and al Qaeda members. The suspects are being held by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

At least two of the suspects may have Western passports, sources said. One of the suspects was described as a white, English-speaking male.

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The seven-day operation included soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and U.S. Army Special Forces, and Navy SEALs. They moved around the eastern Afghan mountains in Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters, escorted by Apache gunships.

A raid Monday targeted the suspected al Qaeda financier. But before troops were able to reach his suspected location, they intercepted radio transmissions that he had fled to Pakistan.

"I have no doubt that they had advance warning that we were coming," said Col. James Huggins. "We have to share information with the country we're in. I have no idea what they do with that information."

"Nobody was there, no enemy," said U.S. Army Cpl. Ryan Stran. "At our first objective, we got to the compound and cleared it. It was just a school. It was either misinformation, or whatever was there, they pulled out."

On Sunday, troops found a pickup hidden underneath a pile of hay. The truck contained Taliban documents, computer manuals and small arms.

Around the operation's midpoint, troops came under mortar fire briefly, but no one was hurt.

Some of the troops rated the operation a qualified success.

"We've got al Qaeda on the run," one infantryman said. "I think they don't know what to do with us. They don't have anything to stop what we do to them.

"They're reacting to us -- it's not the other way around. We're calling the shots."

-- CNN Producer Ryan Chilcote contributed to this report.