Small numbers of United States special forces are on the ground in Afghanistan, a US defence official said on Friday. The official, who asked not to be identified, said the force could be the first phase of a larger presence as part of the US-led war on global terrorism.

He refused to confirm or deny reports in the Washington Post on Friday that the troops were in southern Afghanistan which borders Pakistan, to expand ongoing CIA efforts to encourage ethnic Pashtun leaders to break away from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.
Another official told the Washington Post that additional special forces were likely to be deployed soon and take on other missions such as reconnaissance, identifying targets for bombings and "on rare occasions direct attacks on Taliban or terrorist leaders."
Bureau Report