U.S. Troops Move Close to Afghan Border with Iran

September 25, 2002

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A small group of U.S. soldiers has taken up residence in a newly refurbished army barracks in western Afghanistan, just 25 miles from its border with Iran, local sources said on Wednesday.

Witnesses said that around 20 U.S. troops in armored personnel carriers were now based in the town of Doupushta near the border post of Islam Qala. It was not immediately clear how long they intended to stay there.

"A few days ago three Americans came to the place and talked to people in the mosque...they wanted to buy land," said Khan Mohammad, a local from Doupushta, speaking in the provincial capital of Herat.

"Rumors have been going around for a month that Americans (troops) were coming to this place," he added.

The soldiers moved into a government-owned military garrison, which was recently vacated by border guards.

Officials in Herat, controlled by the powerful governor Ismail Khan, declined to comment on the reports, although military sources who did not want to be named said that more U.S. troops were expected to join the advance party of around 20.

There is already a small team of 15 U.S. special forces soldiers staying in one of the governor's guest houses in the city of Herat following the fall of the hardline Islamic Taliban regime last year.

Khan was said by Herat officials to have been opposed to the deployment of soldiers close to the border, but apparently cleared the move after a recent visit to the province by Lieutenant-General Dan McNeill, head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Afghans in other parts of the country have protested against operations by U.S. troops in towns and villages, and the positioning of soldiers in Herat could also upset Iran, which has traditionally considered Herat to be in its sphere of influence.

Iran and the United States have locked horns over Afghanistan after Washington named Tehran part of an "axis of evil" threatening global security and stability.

The United States says Iran has tried to undermine the authority of U.S.-backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Iran has countered that the United States has used the pretext of hunting down the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan to extend its influence in the country for the long term.

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