US hints at sending ground troops

American is likely to deploy more ground troops in Afghanistan to intensify the hunt for Bin Laden, the general in charge of US operations is now hinting.

Meanwhile the senior US admiral in the region, the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, has called for a UN peace force to be set up quickly. In this confusing picture it appears that the Americans do not intend their troops to be used for peacekeeping or in support of the UN.

British plans to deploy up to 6,000 troops as part of a humanitarian mission, which was supposed to have US backing, have been described by the official Pentagon spokesman as a "misunderstanding". The spokesman said that he was not aware of any future plans for British and allied forces. There is now speculation that the 100 Royal Marines that flew into secure Bagram airport at the weekend may have to be withdrawn altogether.

The apparent change of heart about ground troops by the US came after a sudden visit by General Tommy R Franks, the C in C US Central Command and the man in charge of US operations in Afghanistan, flew into Bagram airport yesterday to hold talks with the leaders of the Northern Alliance.

General Franks made no reference to British forces, nor to Tony Blair's plans to deploy between 2,000 and 6,000 troops as part of a multinational force to bring aid and stability to Afghanistan.

The sense of rift between London and Washington about operations in Afghanistan was underlined at yesterday's news briefing in the Pentagon. Asked about British proposals to deploy thousands of troops as part of a multinational stabilisation forces, the official spokesman, Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem said: "I am only aware of those British forces that, in fact, have gone into Afghanistan, and the initial concern, that I believe was probably a misunderstanding as to what their mission was, and that has been resolved. In terms of the future operations, I am not aware of what that would be."

For the past four days men of the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment have been "ready to move" at their base outside Colchester in Essex. Mystery surrounds crucial aspects of the US campaign in Afghanistan, particularly in regard to relations to the Northern Alliance and Pakistan. The focus of fighting in the north is the besieged city of Kunduz, which has been pounded regularly this week by US B52 bombers and US Navy fighters. But according to several witnesses, the US permitted two Pakistani C-130 Hercules to fly out of the city earlier this week, with Pakistani special forces aboard who had been advising the Taliban.

The US have been asked to pause their bombing attacks to allow negotiations for the Taliban now trapped inside Kunduz. The UN was asked yesterday to broker the surrender terms, but UN officials said they are in no position to do this.

Some 10,000 taliban and al Qaeda are now thought to be in the city. The US have said they do not want the Taliban to be allowed to surrender and keep their weapons. They have said they do not want the al Qaeda Arab, Uzbek, Chechen and Pakistani fighters to be allowed to leave Afghanistan.

The Americans now have a new force of 1,600 Marines ready to deploy from ships in the Arabian Sea to join the hunt for Osama bin laden in southern Afghanistan. Diplomatic efforts to bring peace and rebuild Afghanistan are also gathering pace.