U.S. jets pound targets around Kabul in heaviest attack yet

By Kathy Gannon and AMIR SHAH

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan – In the biggest attack so far against Kabul, U.S. jets pounded the Afghan capital Wednesday, and explosions thundered around a Taliban military academy, artillery units and suspected terrorist training camps. Buildings miles away shook with the fury of the attack.

With the United States claiming air supremacy in its campaign to root out Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, American jets roamed across the skies for more than two hours, seeking out targets on the fringes of this war-ruined city of 1 million.

The private Afghan Islamic Press in Pakistan said U.S. jets and missiles also attacked the Taliban’s southern stronghold of Kandahar for the second time in a day and a Taliban military base at Shamshaad, about four miles from the Pakistani border.

Before the latest bombardment began after sunset, the United Nations reported that Taliban loyalists have been beating up Afghans working with U.N.-affiliated aid agencies, apparently taking aim at one of the only Western symbols remaining in the country.

The barrage on Kabul on Wednesday night appeared to be the longest and biggest yet in the 4-day-old U.S.-led air campaign. Warplanes fired missiles in rapid succession while Taliban gunners unleashed furious, but futile barrages of anti-aircraft fire at the jets flying beyond their range. Taliban mobile air defense units cruised through the city, firing at the planes.

Powerful explosions could be heard around Kabul airport in the north of the city and to the west in the direction of Rishkore and Kargah – both areas where bin Laden is believed to have terrorist training camps.

Blinding flashes lit up the night sky toward the Taliban military academy and an area with artillery garrisons. Jets could be heard heading northward toward the front line between the Taliban and the opposition northern alliance.

Most of the attack took place after the 9 p.m. curfew, and it was impossible to determine the extent of damage. There were no reports from Taliban radio, which has been off the air for two days following attacks on communications towers.

Although there appeared to be no impacts in central Kabul, buildings shook and windows rattled in residential areas in the heart of the capital.

For many Afghans, the nightly air raids were becoming difficult to bear, even in a war-hardened country.

Sardar Mohammed, a Kabul diesel-and-gasoline merchant, said he and his family eat dinner early, then before nightfall move everyone into a room with only one window, which is blocked up with bedding.

“To stop the shrapnel,” he said. “We learned this during the civil war.”

The United States has claimed air supremacy in the campaign against the poorly equipped Taliban, the hard-line Islamic militia that rules most of Afghanistan. The Americans now plan to use 5,000-pound laser-guided bombs against the underground bunkers of Taliban leaders and bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network.

U.S. officials said U.S. warplanes also would begin dropping cluster munitions – bombs that dispense smaller bomblets – for use against moving and stationary land targets such as armored vehicles and troop convoys.

President Bush launched the bombing campaign after weeks of fruitless efforts to get the Taliban to hand over bin Laden, chief suspect in the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The United States has coupled the air assaults with a humanitarian effort, dropping packets of food aid into Afghanistan from planes. The Taliban announced Wednesday that angry Afghans were destroying the packets rather than eating the food.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, called the aid an attempt to “dishonor” the Afghan people by repaying their shed blood with offerings of food.

Zaeef also insisted that the Taliban militia was not defenseless.

“American planes are flying very high, and the defense system that we have, they are not in the range of what we have,” said Zaeef. “As we know, we do not have that sophisticated and modern defense system. But that they have destroyed our defense capability is not true.”

He said bin Laden was still alive, as was Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. Warplanes have repeatedly targeted Mullah Omar’s compound outside Kandahar, though he is said to have fled it Sunday. Wednesday morning, the compound and Kandahar’s airport again came under fire again.

The United Nations said assaults against its Afghan staffers have taken place in recent days in cities that have been prime targets for U.S. warplanes since the airstrikes began Sunday – Kabul, Kandahar and the eastern city of Jalalabad.

U.N. spokeswoman Stephanie Bunker said in Islamabad that U.N. vehicles, including ambulances and mine-clearing vehicles, have also been seized – part of what seemed to be a stepped-up campaign of harassment. “It seems to be intensifying,” she said.

The United Nations withdrew its international staff from Afghanistan two days after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States because of security fears. Hundreds of Afghan employees remained behind, trying to continue delivering food and other humanitarian aid.

On Monday night, four security guards at a U.N.-affiliated mine-clearing operation were killed during an American air raid on Kabul. The building where they worked was only a few hundred yards from one of the night’s targets, a transmission tower.

Along rugged stretches of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Pakistani troops have been fending off Taliban fighters apparently seeking to flee the bombing campaign.

Pakistani defense and intelligence officials said Wednesday that Pakistani soldiers fought a two-hour gunbattle a day earlier with about 30 Taliban soldiers who were trying to cross over – the second such incident in two days.

On Monday, Taliban pilots flew five helicopters across the border, where they were detained by Pakistani authorities, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, rebels in Afghanistan’s north said the American-led air campaign was helping their cause. Waisaddin Salik, a spokesman for the northern opposition alliance contacted by telephone from Pakistan, said U.S. jets had bombed Taliban positions in the district of Shakardara on Tuesday night.

The district, 15 miles north of Kabul, is along the battle line where the alliance has been facing off against Taliban troops. It was the first reported bombing of such a front-line position by U.S. forces.

The Taliban, for their part, said they had repelled a rebel assault in northern Ghor province. Taliban spokesman Abdul Hanan Himat said 35 opposition fighters were killed.

The claims could not be independently verified.

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kathy Gannon contributed to this dispatch from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Firefighters respond to a 911 call on July 16, 2024, in Mill Creek. Firefighters from South County Fire, Tulalip Bay Fire Department and Camano Island Fire and Rescue left Wednesday to help fight the LA fires. (Photo provided by South County Fire)
Help is on the way: Snohomish County firefighters en route to LA fires

The Los Angeles wildfires have caused at least 180,000 evacuations. The crews expect to arrive Friday.

x
Edmonds police shooting investigation includes possibility of gang violence

The 18-year-old victim remains in critical condition as of Friday morning.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River. Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council approves water, sewer rate increases

The 43% rise in combined water and sewer rates will pay for large infrastructure projects.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Riley Boyd, 6, left, and sisters Vivienne Boyd, 3, ride a sled together down a hill at Anderson Center Field on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County shouldn’t expect snow and cold to leave any time soon

Residents can expect a reprieve from the snow until possibly this weekend. Colder than normal temperatures are expected to remain into next week.

Modern DNA tech comes through again for Everett police in 1989 murder case

Recent advances in forensic genealogy led to the suspect’s arrest in Clark County, Nevada.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.