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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tadsamillionaire who wrote (201708)	11/9/2001 12:40:36 PM
From: E. T.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

BBC -- Afghan opposition 'capture' key city news.bbc.co.uk The Alliance need to take advantage of the bombing Afghanistan's opposition Northern Alliance say they have captured the strategically important northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. "[Northern Alliance commander] General Dostam told me his forces entered Mazar from the west and the south, and now he is fully controlling the city, including the airport and other military places," opposition spokesman Sibghatullah Zaki told the BBC. Another Northern Alliance spokesman, Ashraf Nadeem told Reuters: "Taleban forces are fleeing towards Kabul." We don't have anyone from the Taleban around us now Northern Alliance commander General Rashid Dostam The report has not been independently confirmed but, if true, it would represent a major victory in the American-led campaign. The Alliance said the Taleban appeared to have abandoned Mazar-e-Sharif as opposition forces advanced under American air cover. One report also speaks of Northern Alliance troops massing just north of the capital, Kabul, in preparation for an expected advance on Taleban positions there. BBC correspondents in the region advise caution over the Northern Alliance claim, saying their forces came close to Mazar-e-Sharif several weeks ago, but then had to withdraw. ADVANCE ON MAZAR: US raid reportedly kills 85 Pakistani militants near Mazar-e-Sharif Northern Alliance say they have gained ground south of Mazar-e-Sharif Heavy bombing of Taleban front lines along Tajikistan border and north of Kabul US now carrying out 120 attack sorties daily And military analysts warned that, even if the report is true, it could be a tactical retreat by the Taleban. Earlier, the Taleban said they had repulsed the Northern Alliance offensive after rushing reinforcements to Mazar-e-Sharif. Residents of Mazar-e-Sharif reported that the Taleban reinforcements sent to the city had included significant numbers of foreign volunteers. Capture of the city by the opposition would open a land corridor from Uzbekistan - which supports the United States - into central Afghanistan. It would also cut off Taleban forces in the north of the country. In other developments: Police in Pakistan kill four protesters and wound four when a railway is blocked during a nationwide strike in protest against the bombing of Afghanistan King Abdullah of Jordan says US attacks on Afghanistan should continue until Washington achieves its military objectives President George W Bush says the coalition against terror is now stronger than ever, after talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee The Saudi foreign minister hits out at what he calls the Bush administration's reluctance to break the deadlock in the Middle East -Three Japanese navy ships head for the Indian Ocean to gather information as part of Japan's contribution to the campaign BBC journalists allowed into the Afghan capital by the Taleban report seeing huge supplies of food by the roadside and say Kabul is relatively quiet The US military commander, General Tommy Franks, in a briefing on Thursday, has made it clear that the United States would consider deploying American ground forces if the Northern Alliance failed to capture Mazar-e-Sharif. Importance of Mazar-e-Sharif Airport could be used as US base Good road link to Uzbekistan Military garrisons contain arms and ammunition Centre of wheat production Controls natural gas that supplies energy to northern Afghanistan Further south, wave upon wave of US jets subjected Taleban frontlines north of Kabul to one of the heaviest bombardments of the month-old campaign so far. The BBC's William Reeve, who is in Kabul, says windows in the city shook from the blasts overnight, but that the city was calm on Friday. He says there is no sign that the Taleban authorities are about to collapse. If anything, they are even more defiant now than when the bombing started, he says. The Taleban said the Americans were firing rockets to target Taleban vehicles behind their front lines. General Franks: Not ruling out US troops They said 10 civilians were killed in two villages nearby. The area near Bagram military airport, on the front line north of Kabul, was also hit. The Taleban said four of their soldiers had been killed. American bombers have also been targeting Taleban positions in the north-east of Afghanistan, where both sides are fighting for control of supply routes into Tajikistan. : Detailed map Click here for a detailed map of the strikes so far In the west, anti-Taleban forces claimed to be advancing towards the city of Herat, near the Iranian border, but there was no independent confirmation. The Pentagon says the bombing has killed many Taleban soldiers, but there are no reliable estimates of the total.