U.S.-led troops are conducting search-and-attack missions against al-Qaida and Taleban fighters hunkered down in caves and bunkers in the mountains in eastern Afghanistan. 

U.S. aircraft resumed attacks against suspected enemy hideouts Saturday after a brief lull because of driving snow and high winds in the region near the city of Gardez. The U.S.-led assault, known as Operation Anaconda, is in its second week. 

Ground fire from the targeted fighters has dropped significantly in recent days, making it more difficult to locate them. 

Reports on the number of al-Qaida and Taleban holdouts in the area vary from several hundred to up to 1,000. 

There are also reports that Pakistan is tightening its border with Afghanistan to make sure al-Qaida and Taleban fighters do not cross over. 

In other developments, the bodies of two Germans and three Danish soldiers killed last week when a bomb they were seeking to defuse in Kabul blew up have been flow back to their home countries. 

Some information for this report provided by AFP

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