21.   Planners believe operation could last up to three months.

22.   A senior military official has said the operation could last at least through the summer.

23.   Authorities expected the search operation to last several days because of the rugged, isolated terrain.

24.   Batiste said he did not know how long the operation would last.

25.   But recently Georgian officials have acknowledged that some armed rebels were hiding there, and launched security operations against them last month.

26.   Ganor said that if the current Israeli operation lasts only a few weeks, it would achieve limited and temporary success at best.

27.   He said he could not say how long the operation would last.

28.   In a telephone interview from Toronto, Borland said it was too soon to tell how long the cleanup operation would last.

29.   Israeli military officials said their operation could last as long as two weeks.

30.   Israeli military officials have said the operation could last as long as two weeks.