AFGHANISTAN: Low-flying U.S. Jets have pounded Taliban positions on the front line north of Kabul

Record ID: 355132

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN: Low-flying U.S. Jets have pounded Taliban positions on the front line north of Kabul
  • Date: 9th November 2001
  • Summary: (W5)NEAR RABAT, AFGHANISTAN (NORTHERN ALLIANCE TERRITORY) (NOVEMBER 9, 2001) (REUTERS) GV BOMBING ON TALIBAN FRONTLINE POSITION GV F-18 IN SKY GV LARGE EXPLOSION ON TALIBAN POSITION GV ANOTHER VIEW OF EXPLOSION SV MOHAMMED MUSTAFA, LOCAL COMMANDER WATCHING MCU NORTHERN ALLIANCE MEMBER WATCHING THROUGH BINOCULARS GV OF ANOTHER EXPLOSION BEHIND TALIBAN FRONTLINE MCU (Farsi
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEAR RABAT AND JABAL-US-SARAJ, AFGHANISTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Reuters ID: LVABE6RHRICU6LNAK6HFTRXVHF5
  • Story Text: Low-flying U.S. jets have pounded Taliban positions on the front line north of Kabul in some of the heaviest raids in 34 days as opposition soldiers said they were preparing to advance towards the capital.
    F-18 jets trailing flares to deter anti-aircraft fire on Friday (November 9) bombed Taliban targets in the villages of Estarghech and Raeasht overlooking the opposition-held Bagram airstrip until a thick fog of smoke and dust hung over the frontline.
    Despite the onslaught, Taliban forces fired mortars and artillery at positions held by the opposition Northern Alliance, sending soldiers running for cover but causing no real damage.
    The bombing raids began at dawn and continued until around
    00 p.m. (1130 GMT) when a rainstorm swept across the sprawling Shomali plain.
    The roar of jets was replaced by a distant call to Muslim Friday prayers.
    The opposition says it is ready for an offensive after nearly three weeks of U.S. air attacks on the frontline, which zigzags the plain leading south to Kabul.
    The Northern Alliance has said it does not plan to take Kabul and would stop outside the city if it advanced that far.
    The Northern Alliance is hated in Kabul because of a bitter struggle over the capital in the early 1990s that killed 50,000 people.
    At a military base near the Northern Alliance stronghold of Jabal-Us-Saraj, opposition soldiers filled old Soviet tanks with fuel and stocked them with ammunition.
    "We are getting prepared for a new attack we have gathered here. New soldiers and weaponry from neighbouring districts.
    We are awaiting the order any time now and we are ready to attack," said deputy commander of the military base, Ares Degherua.
    Hundreds of soldiers were gathered at the base, some cleaning weapons and others playing volleyball.
    The United States has intensified its bombing campaign against the Taliban north of Kabul this week, raising expectations that the opposition will push towards the capital soon.
    Opposition officials have said there are between 8,000 and 10,000 troops ready to march south and take back territory lost to the Taliban during five years of conflict.
    The Northern Alliance, backed by U.S. airpower, is also fighting to recapture the strategic northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif near the border with former Soviet Uzbekistan.
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