British Marines Uncover Huge Weapons Cache in Afghanistan - 2002-06-23

British marines in Afghanistan say they have found a huge enemy weapons cache near the border with Pakistan.

The marines said the discovery -- one of the largest in the war on terrorism -- was made Saturday, after they stormed a residential compound in a village near the Pakistan border.

The marines said a building in the compound, near the town of Khost, was stacked high with hundreds of rockets, mortars and heavy weapons believed to belong to al-Qaida and Taleban fighters.

Meanwhile, in a surprise political development, former Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni said he has not accepted any posts in the new government, and has not yet decided whether he will.

He spoke only hours after interim President Hamid Karzai announced the names of the remaining 13 people in his transitional cabinet.

Mr. Karzai's spokesman said late Saturday that Mr. Qanooni had accepted dual cabinet roles, and would serve as education minister and national security advisor in Mr. Karzai's transitional government.

Hamid Karzai -- recently elected interim president by an Afghan grand council -- had previously announced the names of half of his 27-member cabinet, saying he wanted it to represent all of the country's ethnic and tribal groups.