US forces captured seven suspected al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan in an operation kept secret until now to keep from spooking others who might be in the same area, a US defense official said today.
US Defense Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld had alluded to the captures in an interview with radio reporters yesterday, confirming the detainees were being processed but providing no other information.
The defense official, who asked not to be identified, said the seven were taken by surprise by US forces who captured them at an undisclosed location without firing a shot.
The location and other details of the operation were being withheld to keep from alerting al-Qaeda fighters in the area that their presence had been detected, the official said.
The official did not know whether any senior al-Qaeda fighters figured among the seven detainees.
AFP
