The US army said today it had uncovered nine truckloads of weapons and ammunition in two separate caches in eastern Afghanistan as it continues it search for Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives.
In all, 51 different types of weapons, ammunition, communication devices and other items were seized yesterday, ranging from 19th-century muzzle-loading rifles to sophisticated modern machine guns.
The largest cache, roughly enough to fill six trucks, was found in a remote village in eastern Afghanistan, although US officials would not name the village.
US troops involved in the operation said villagers had at first smiled and chatted to them and even invited them in for tea. But Sgt Jamie Thomas said he became curious about what lay behind a locked door in one of the houses.
When the owner appeared reluctant to hand over the key, troops of the 82nd Airborne Division kicked in the door to find the weapons cache.
In the two caches, which were around three kilometres apart, soldiers said they found a 75 mm recoilless rifle, hand grenades, mortars, landmines, 296 cases of ammunition and more than 260 rocket-propelled grenade rounds.
The finds also included gas masks, a communications antenna and a number of 107 mm artillery rounds, of the kind often used in attacks on US bases in the border area.