Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: greenspirit who wrote (203537)	11/16/2001 6:32:21 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Taliban 'to leave Kandahar' Friday November 16, 2001 guardian.co.uk Senior al-Qaida official Mohamed Atef, reported to have been killed in US bombing raid. Photo: AP The Taliban's supreme commander, Mullah Mohammad Omar, has today agreed to turn Kandahar over to two local Pashtun leaders, the Afghan Islamic Press reports. The Pakistan-based agency said Mullah Omar agreed to leave the southern Afghan city - the regime's headquarters - and head for the mountains within 24-hours following discussions with "close friends and army commanders". Under the deal, control of the city will pass to Mullah Naqibullah and Haji Basher. The two are former Afghan resistance commanders who fought against the Soviet invasion. They are not members of the Taliban. US planes bombed Kandahar today, continuing a pattern of relentless strikes on the city and its environs, as reports emerged that a senior adviser to Osama bin Laden was killed in recent US air strike. Mohammed Atef is thought to have died during US air strikes near Kabul, the Afghan capital, according to a US official, who described the evidence of this as "credible". "This guy was Bin Laden's military specialist since the early 1990s, [and is] widely thought to be Bin Laden's successor in the event of his death," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Atef, an Egyptian, is believed to have been involved in the planning of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. He has also been indicted for involvement in the US embassy bombings in Africa in 1998. Earlier this year, Atef's daughter married Bin Laden's son, demonstrating the closeness of the Egyptian to the al-Qaida leader. "This is a devastating blow to the al-Qaida organisation," the official said. The focus of the US campaign in Afghanistan has shifted more towards tracking down Bin Laden and al-Qaida leaders, who are thought to be hiding in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban still retain some control. Pentagon officials have said some senior Taliban and al-Qaida leaders have been killed in recent days, but have offered no names. The US state department has been offering more than £3m for information leading to the capture or conviction of Atef. At Kunduz in the north, the anti-Taliban northern alliance laid siege to the city, backed by US air strikes. The defenders of Kunduz include an estimated 2,000-3,000 foreigners loyal to Bin Laden. Near the city of Herat, by the Iranian border, Taliban forces reportedly vacated an air base, the Afghan Islamic Press reported.