31.   Interior Minister Abdrahmane Moussa said the operation that is to last until the end of the month was proceeding smoothly.

32.   It did not say when the three were arrested, where they lived or how long the joint operation lasted.

33.   Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the operation would last one or two days.

34.   Mofaz did not say how long the operation would last, but indicated that it would not be brief.

35.   On Wednesday, firefighters, veterinarians and rescue workers using earth moving equipment extricated the elephant from belly-high sludge in an operation lasting three hours.

36.   Speaking privately, other Defense Department officials, said the cost would run into billions of dollars, the final figure depending on how long the operation lasted.

37.   The army declined to say how many soldiers were involved or how long the operations would last.

38.   The entire operation lasted two hours, it said.

39.   The Israeli army chief of staff, Gen. Amnon Shahak, told Israel radio that the operation could last as long as two weeks.

40.   The operation lasted about an hour, and government officials said Panday was in good condition Saturday afternoon.