US forces have in recent hours found materials and documents at a former al Qaeda guerrilla base in southern Afghanistan and they are being tested for chemical, biological and radiation content, US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld said today.
Mr Rumsfeld told reporters travelling with him to central Asia that the Tarnak Farms base, about six kilometres east of a US Marine desert base known as Rhino, was on a list of 25 or 30 sites that have been systematically reviewed by American forces as they came available in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a base that could not be identified for security reasons, Mr Rumsfeld said the materials had been found in the past 24 hours. He did not say whether actual weapons had been found, stressing that intelligence and other materials were being examined.
"There is a place called Tarnak Farms that has been interesting. They have now searched it and gathered up a good deal of materials and documentation and items to be tested for chemical, biological and radiation," he said.