Rumsfeld says air defense threat remains in Afghanistan

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- In the sixth day of air strikes in Afghanistan, the bombing by U.S.-led forces tapered off Friday because it was the Muslim day of prayer. A senior defense official said Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization probably possesses crude chemical weapons and possibly biological ones, yet lacks any easy way to use them.

While military operations continue, "We are not doing any pre-planned operations today" because of the holy day, said Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, at a Pentagon news conference.

Navy fighter planes were searching for possible targets and would attack if they found any, added Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Meanwhile, a senior defense official said al-Qaida is believed to possess chlorine, phosgene and other poison gases that the terrorist network could use as weapons. It also may have biological toxins, said the official, who did not provide any detail.

The terrorists' problem is finding the means to use them on people, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said they would have to use primitive but "innovative" ways to attack. He noted recent scares in the United States about the use of crop-dusters and hand sprayers in possible bioterrorism.

The terrorists likely do not have any more complex chemical weapons, such as the nerve agent sarin, the official said. If the terrorists have obtained any nuclear material, they may be able to make a radiological weapon -- one that spreads radiation without an actual explosion.

Chemical, biological and radiological weapons are grouped with nuclear devices as "weapons of mass destruction."

In Afghanistan, Some bombs fell Friday in a pre-dawn strike north of the capital of Kabul. They hit near the front line where Taliban soldiers face off against troops of an opposition military alliance.

There were no immediate reports of attacks near other main cities Friday -- in contrast to heavy raids the night before. Navy officials aboard the USS Enterprise in the Arabian Sea said they were halting bombing raids from the aircraft carrier because of the holy day.

An additional drop of humanitarian aid into Afghanistan was canceled overnight because of "an overflight problem," Myers said without further explanation. He said that was to resume Friday.

Early airstrikes have hit anti-aircraft batteries, command centers, airfields and other fixed targets. Now the strikes are aimed at Taliban troops, convoys and other mobile targets, military officials say.

Bombing Taliban troops is meant not only to kill the militia's fighters but also to spread fear, confusion and desertion in the Taliban's ranks. Military planners hope that will weaken the Taliban enough for it to either collapse on its own or fall to the various rebel forces.

Without shelter from the Taliban, military officials say, bin Laden and his network will be less of a threat and much easier to track down.

"We've got them on the run," President Bush said at a White House news conference Thursday night.

While U.S. planes have begun daylight bombing runs over Kabul and the Taliban home base of Kandahar, "We have to acknowledge the reality that there is still an air defense threat to the United States," Rumsfeld said Thursday.

In their largest casualty claim so far in the war, the Taliban said Friday that at least 200 villagers had been killed two days earlier in airstrikes on a remote settlement east of Kabul. The Pentagon had no comment and the Taliban's claim could not be immediately verified.

U.S. officials are in touch with the northern alliance but were not coordinating targets with the rebels, said Marine Maj. Gen. Henry P. Osman, a senior planner for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That decision, Osman said, was a political one.

Cooperation with the Afghan rebels is complicated for the United States. Neighboring Pakistan does not want the rebels to come to power and many warlords in the anti-Taliban alliance have reputations for corruption and atrocities against civilians.