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US, Afghan Forces Storm al-Qaida Fighters at Hospital VOA News 28 Jan 2002 13:38 UTC 
U.S. special forces and Afghan troops have stormed a hospital in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, where six heavily armed al-Qaida fighters have been holed up for the past two months.
Afghan officials say all six of the fighters were killed during the operation, which ended several hours of fighting early Monday. The al-Qaida fighters had repeatedly vowed to die rather than surrender to U.S. troops.
Gunfire and a number of explosions echoed from the hospital complex during the overnight raid. The Associated Press said some U.S. troops wore buttons saying "I love New York," in an apparent homage to victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States blamed on Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida followers.
A local commander says the al-Qaida fighters saw the American troops coming and opened fire.
The six al-Qaida fighters were among a group of about 20 who came there for treatment before the Taleban abandoned Kandahar early on December 7. Most of the other fighters escaped or were captured. One killed himself with a grenade earlier this month.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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