The Aug. 25 [2002] raid near Zormat in the southeastern part of the country was the final objective of the week-long Operation Mountain Sweep. About 2,000 American aviation and ground forces conducted six air assaults in the rugged province, where hostilities have erupted from Khost to areas near Gardez. The operation was aimed at rooting out fugitive al-Qaida and Taliban members, hidden weapons caches and intelligence material.