| Subject: Battles rage in Afghanistan - U.S. forces killing Taliban |
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Date Posted: 16:32:57 12/03/01 Mon
Battles rage in Afghanistan - U.S. forces killing Taliban
Last Updated: Fri Nov 16 11:36:54 2001
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/11/16/afghanistan011116
KABUL - The arrival of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has not stopped the U.S. bombing campaign in Afghanistan, nor the brutal fighting around two key centres, Kandahar and Kunduz.
Reports say Taliban fighters are entrenched in both cities, one in the north, the other in the south, where they are making a last stand against opposition forces. It appears the Taliban are prepared to fight to the death, even as they are attacked from the ground by Northern Alliance and other forces, and from the air by U.S. bombers.
A senior U.S. official said Friday Northern Alliance forces have captured some of the Taliban's top leaders. He says it is hoped the captives can provide information on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.
Mohammed Atef, a top deputy of Osama bin Laden, is also believed to have been killed by a U.S. air strike in the past two days.
Bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 attacks remains at large, along with the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Mullah Omar, in a rare interview with the BBC on Thursday, vowed to continue the war. He said he would destroy the United States, and would rather die than join any new, broad-based government.
In another development, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed that U.S. special forces were active in southern Afghanistan. "They are killing Taliban that won't surrender and al-Qaeda that are trying to move from one place to another," said Rumsfeld.
The U.S.-led offensive against the Taliban, which is now 41 days old, has seen the routing of Taliban forces in most parts of the country, but the Taliban continue to hold onto the strategic cities of Kunduz in the north and Kandahar in the south.
Efforts to crush the resistance in those cities have failed so far, but more troops and air power are being directed against the defenders, hoping to crush them.
Who will govern Afghanistan?
While the fight against the Taliban appears to be moving ahead, the battle to form a broad-based government in Afghanistan is not making much headway.
Diplomats from the U.N. are expected to arrive in Kabul this weekend to invite leaders of the Northern Alliance to a conference on Afghanistan's future, but it is already apparent that tribal warlords are carving out areas of influence throughout the country, making it more difficult to ensure a future government that would have control over the entire country.
http://cbc.ca/clips/ram-audio/gillespi_wr011116.ram
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