ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT - The crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt launched fighter, ground attack and surveillance aircraft Saturday in a renewed round of attacks on Taliban targets in Afghanistan.

The ship's captain, meanwhile, said his pilots were ready to provide air cover for ground troops.

U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters, EA-6B Prowler surveillance planes and U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet attack jets were catapulted off the Roosevelt's decks early Saturday morning, laden with air-to-ground missiles.

Capt. Rich O'Hanlon said the Taliban were sporadically firing anti-aircraft artillery and the occasional shoulder-launched missile at U.S. aircraft, but he said for practical purposes the Taliban air defenses were "nonexistent."

O'Hanlon would not provide details about the Roosevelt battle group's combat activities or possible future assignments, but he did say pilots were ready to provide air cover for ground forces, when it is needed.

A battle group includes as many as a dozen ships, including an amphibious assault vessel with 2,000 U.S. Marines on board.

The Roosevelt, based in Norfolk, Va., launched airstrikes against Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and terror suspect Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network for the first time Wednesday, leading the U.S. Navy's fourth battle group into the Arabian Sea.

The other battle groups are led by the aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson, USS Enterprise and the USS Kitty Hawk, which Pentagon officials have said is being used as a base for special operations troops.

On the first night of strikes, the crew flew an American flag that New York firefighters had erected over the wreckage of the World Trade Center during rescue efforts after the Sept. 11 attacks. New York Mayor Rudolf Giuliani gave the flag to the Roosevelt's crew for the duration of the U.S. campaign.

"That flag has become a great symbol of unity among the people of America, New York and this crew," O'Hanlon said.

The Roosevelt's planes have flown mostly at night, he said. The aircraft carrier is home to 5,500 sailors and Marines supporting 76 aircraft, who now work primarily at night and sleep during the day.

"We have been launching a tremendous number of sorties every day," O'Hanlon said. "There are areas of Afghanistan where there are concentrations of ground targets, tanks and troops ... (and) our airmen have been ordered to engage those targets."

The U.S. Marine Corps' VMFA-251 "Thunderbolt" Squadron, normally stationed outside Charleston, S.C., is the first Marine unit confirmed participating in the campaign against the Taliban. While assigned to the Navy, Marine pilots have extra training in providing air cover for ground troops, O'Hanlon said.

The Pentagon confirmed Friday that U.S. special forces have begun operations on the ground in northern and southern Afghanistan.

A U.S. official in Washington said separately that U.S. special forces were supporting intelligence efforts to undermine the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said military action could increase markedly in coming days.

A Pakistani official, also not wanting to be identified, said Pakistan was told by the Americans that special forces were dropped into Taliban territory on Thursday.

O'Hanlon said the crew of the Roosevelt had been briefed on how to handle suspicious packages in the wake of the anthrax scare. He said the ship is practicing the same safety procedures used by post offices in the United States.