British special forces enter Kandahar

Soldiers with the royal marine special boat service (SBS) were thought to be patrolling in and around the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar yesterday, as the US stepped up the hunt for the Islamist movement's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar.

The troops, not in uniform but driving a Land Rover equipped with a heavy-calibre machine gun and a British military number plate were seen in the bombed-out streets of the city, with the gunner waving to bemused Kandahar residents.

British and US special forces, along with CIA operatives, began a visible presence in Kandahar yesterday, after manning checkpoints outside the city to search for al-Qaida fighters and senior Taliban.

The patrols began despite a US forces spokesman at the American marine base at Camp Rhino, southern Afghanistan, saying they had no intention of entering the city.

SBS personnel were initially deployed around Bagram airbase outside Kabul, but were moved south when royal marines relieved them a fortnight ago.

The five soldiers confirmed that they were British special forces but declined to identify their unit or discuss their mission. They were seen searching buildings before moving on to scour the heavily mined airfield.

Other special forces, British and US, were patrolling the city's airport where a large number of mainly Arab fighters were killed in the battle for Kandahar.

A spokesman for Kandahar's governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, said that foreign fighters near the airport were continuing to make sporadic attacks.

The troops said that al-Qaida fighters had left booby traps and mines at their former training camps, including a massive complex four miles from Kandahar, where reporters discovered American brochures for chemicals, and other documents.