Taliban say control area after battle with U.S

By Sayed Salahuddin and Peter Graff

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban said on Wednesday they had hoisted their flag in a remote district of Afghanistan where days earlier the militants had inflicted the deadliest battlefield casualties on U.S. troops in over a year.

In a statement put out on their website, www.shahamat.org, the hardline Islamists said they had raised their flag in Kamdesh district of eastern Nuristan province near the Pakistan border at a function attended by elders.

U.S. forces denied they had left the area, although they said they will leave eventually under plans announced before the attack.

In a separate statement marking the eighth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan that led to their overthrow, the militants said they posed no threat to the West but would continue their fight against foreign forces as long as they remained in the country.

The Taliban statements come at a time when Western officials warn that deserting Afghanistan could mean a return to power for the Taliban and the country could once again become a safe haven for al Qaeda militants, who could use it as a base to plan future attacks on Western countries.

U.S.-led forces with the help of Afghan groups overthrew the Taliban government during a five week battle which started on October 7, 2001, after the militants refused to hand over al Qaeda leaders wanted by Washington for the September 11 attacks on America.

On Saturday, hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed two remote NATO outposts near the Pakistan border that led to a fierce 13-hour battle. Eight American and at least two Afghan soldiers were killed, the worst losses for U.S. troops in over a year.

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