U.S. tries to help Afghan opposition advance on Kabul

By Kathy Gannon

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. jets returned to the skies over Afghanistan today, raiding front line positions near Kabul and trying to help the opposition advance on key cities in the strategic north.

A spokesman for the opposition northern alliance, meanwhile, predicted his forces would be able to break through Taliban lines on the Kabul front within a few days if the U.S. keeps up the pace of air attacks.

The opposition received another boost today when Turkey announced it would send a 90-strong special forces unit to train northern alliance troops. Turkey is the only Muslim member of NATO and the only Islamic country to agree to send troops to the anti-terrorism campaign.

Despite stepped-up bombing in recent days, the Taliban showed little sign of buckling. Taliban officials said their forces repulsed a three-pronged opposition assault Wednesday after air attacks against Taliban positions defending another northern city, Mazar-e-Sharif.

Attacks around the Kala Kata garrison in northern Takhar province followed a day of intensified bombing near Bagram, 30 miles north of Kabul, where B-52s joined the battle to dislodge the Taliban from positions blocking the way to the Afghan capital.

Wednesday’s attacks near Kabul were the most intense against front line positions there since the air campaign began Oct. 7.

Air strikes around Kala Kata began before dawn today and continued well into the day, said opposition spokesman Saeed Sadar, in a telephone interview.

Overnight, U.S. jets struck a Taliban fuel and ammunition dump near the opposition-controlled Bagram air base on the Kabul front, according to opposition spokesman Waisuddin Salik. Three fuel tanks and two trucks were destroyed, he said.

Despite the bombing, there was no sign today that the opposition northern alliance was moving forward – either around Kabul or on the other major front near Mazar-e-Sharif.

The Taliban said the opposition’s attack in the Dar-e-Suf district southeast of Mazar-e-Sharif failed despite American bombing. Taliban diplomats in Islamabad, Pakistan, said opposition fighters left bodies of their dead on the battlefield.

The claim could not be independently confirmed. Capturing Mazar-e-Sharif would enable the northern alliance to cut Taliban supply lines to western Afghanistan and open routes to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the north.

Despite the lack of movement, the opposition’s foreign minister, Abdullah, said today in Jabal Saraj that his troops would reach their “highest level of preparation” and be ready to break the Taliban front lines near Kabul “within a few days.”

The United States and its allies in the coalition against terrorism are hoping the outgunned and outmanned alliance can make gains on the ground before the harsh Afghan winter takes hold.

In Ankara, the Turkish government said its special forces unit would also provide humanitarian assistance in addition to training. The Turks have long experience fighting Turkish guerrillas in terrain similar to Afghanistan.

“The success of the U.S.-led operation is for the good of humanity,” Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s office said.

In a dispatch today, the Taliban’s official Bakhtar news agency reported U.S. planes damaged the hydroelectric dam at Lashkar-Gah, which supplies power to the Islamic militia’s southern stronghold of Kandahar and neighboring Helmand province.

It also provides irrigation to thousands of acres of farmland, Bakhtar said.

Taliban officials claim 1,500 people have been killed in the air assault. The Pentagon denies targeting civilians and insists the Taliban claims are inflated.

President Bush launched the air campaign after the Taliban repeatedly refused to surrender Osama bin Laden, chief suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed an estimated 4,500 people in the United States. The Pentagon has repeatedly denied targeting civilians directly.

In Kabul, a Muslim cleric appealed today for an end to the conflict.

“We are human beings and the outside world are human beings,” he said during morning prayers at the Wazir Akbar Khan mosque. “We feel that there is discrimination against us because we are Afghans, because we are Muslims. Where will it end?”

With the conflict entering a new and heightened phase, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld leaves Washington on Friday for Russia and countries bordering Afghanistan. Rumsfeld is expected to brief those countries on U.S. strategy and muster support for a protracted campaign.

Pentagon officials said U.S. planes and missiles have also been seeking out caves and underground complexes used by bin Laden’s al-Qaida network – many of which are believed north of Kandahar and in the rugged terrain near the Pakistani border.

Rumsfeld acknowledged Tuesday that American troops were on the ground in Afghanistan coordinating air strikes in an attempt to increase the effectiveness of the attacks. Opposition commanders have complained the American attacks were too weak to crack the Taliban.

In other attacks-related developments:

_ Russian border guards in Tajikistan witnessed overnight bombardment of Taliban positions near the Afghan village of Zardkamar, just seven miles from the Tajik border, the guards’ press service said. Details of damage or casualties were not available.

_ The Pentagon announced plans to call up more than the 50,000 troops initially thought necessary for the campaign in Afghanistan and homeland defense. No new number was given, but under the authorization signed by Bush three days after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon could activate as many as 1 million reservists. The total is not expected to approach that figure.

_ Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a new immigration crackdown, increasing vigilance at the nation’s borders and designating 46 terrorist groups whose members and supporters will be banned from entering the country.

_ Federal officials have ordered nuclear power plant operators to tighten security in response to the alert this week of another potential terrorist attack. Arkansas became the sixth state to dispatch National Guard troops to help private forces and police guard nuclear reactors.

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.

Three injured after high-speed, head-on collision on Highway 522

Washington State Patrol is investigating the crash that happened before 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

Fernando Espinoza salts the sidewalk along Fifth Avenue South on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Think this is cold, Snohomish County? Wait until Tuesday

Tuesday could bring dangerous wind chill during the day and an overnight low of 19 degrees

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.

The Washington State Department of Licensing office is seen in 2018 in Seattle. (Sue Misao / The Herald)
Drivers licensing offices to close Feb. 14-17

Online services are also not available Feb. 10-17. The Washington State Department of Licensing said the move is necessary to upgrade software.

Pharmacist Nisha Mathew prepares a Pfizer COVID booster shot for a patient at Bartell Drugs on Broadway on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia

Proponents say providing health care for all is a “fundamental human right.” Opponents worry about the cost of implementing it.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens, Arlington school measures on Feb. 11 ballot

A bond in Lake Stevens and a levy in Arlington would be used to build new schools.

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.