www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=826078848
'SAS troops exchanged gunfire with Taliban'
ONDON: A four-man British special forces team is already in Afghanistan and briefly exchanged gunfire with Taliban troops outside Kabul, The Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday reported. The gun battle, which the Times described as ''more symbolic than directed,'' happened late on Friday, the newspapers said, quoting unidentified military sources. No one was injured, according to the reports.
The Ministry of Defence and Downing Street would neither confirm nor deny the reports. The British government has a long-standing policy of never discussing the actions of its special forces, known as the SAS.
''There has been a lot of speculation, but we never discuss operations,'' a defence spokesman said, speaking with customary anonymity.
The newspapers reported that the SAS team entered Afghanistan from Tajikistan five days before the gunfight. According to the newspapers' sources, the team had linked up with opposition troops in the north of the country, which are fighting the Taliban.
The SAS team was in the country to seek intelligence about Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts, locate landmines and find routes Bin Laden might take out of the country, the newspapers said.
John Reid, Britain's secretary of state for Northern Ireland, warned Britishers on Sunday that the newly declared war against terrorism is going to be a long fight.
''This is not something that is going to be over in days, months, and perhaps, even years.'' Reid told the British Broadcasting Corp's ''Breakfast with Frost'' programme.
Reid warned Britishers ''that there will be danger to us.'' ''We are America's biggest ally ... it may involve sacrifices,'' he said.
He confirmed that the government was looking at a range of measures to strengthen its anti-terrorism laws, but denied that any new laws would violate the European Convention on Human Rights. ''We have to get that balance between democracy and that defence of democracy,'' Reid said.
A Downing Street spokesman said Britain already has one of the tightest anti-terrorism laws in Europe, and significant new measures were not currently on the table. The Terrorism Act of 2000 greatly expanded a 1974 law passed after the Irish Republican Army killed 21 people in pub bombings in Birmingham.
The new law bans 21 radical groups including Al-Qaeda, the group run by Bin Laden.
The law also broadens the definition of terrorism to include religious or ideologically motivated violence and acts. Significantly, it reaches beyond Britain's borders to allow for prosecution of those involved in activities abroad.
Meanwhile, two men and one woman remain in custody in central London police stations where they are being questioned in connection with the terror attacks in the United States. A fourth man arrested was released without charge on Saturday.
Scotland Yard has refused to release any further details. Britain may hold suspects arrested under the Terrorism Act for a maximum of seven days without charge.
BETCRIS 
09-23-2001, 06:09 PM
looks like it may have started 
