AFGHANISTAN: AS U.S. WARPLANES STEP UP THEIR BOMBARDMENT OF AFGHANISTAN THE OPPOSITION NORTHERN ALLIANCE APPEARS TO BE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RAIDS

Record ID: 861901

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN: AS U.S. WARPLANES STEP UP THEIR BOMBARDMENT OF AFGHANISTAN THE OPPOSITION NORTHERN ALLIANCE APPEARS TO BE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RAIDS
  • Date: 10th October 2001
  • Summary: (U3) KHAJBAHUDEIN, AFGHANISTAN (OCTOBER 11, 2001)(REUTERS) LV OF A NORTHERN ALLIANCE BASE SLV OF SOLDIERS WITH WEAPONS (2 SHOTS) SLV ENTRANCE TO THE BASE SLV/SV/CU GROUP OF SOLDIERS PRACTISING LOADING WEAPONS (4 SHOTS) SLV SOLDIERS ON TANKS (2 SHOTS) LAS DONKEY LOADED WITH STRAW
  • Embargoed: 25th October 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CHARATOI AND KHAJBAHUDEIN, AFGHANISTAN
  • City:
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA8AYYY24KH227MAII90CLN8D0W
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: As U.S. warplanes stepped up their bombardment of Afghanistan the opposition Northern Alliance appeared to be trying to take advantage of the raids, it has said it had seized control of the only remaining north-south highway after persuading 40 Taliban commanders and their 1,200 fighters to switch sides.
    As U.S. warplanes continued to pound the Taliban positions, Afghanistan's Northern Alliance opposition forces prepared to go on the offensive against the Taliban.
    The Northern Alliance, Afghanistan's leading opposition group and representing most of the country's ethnic groups except the Pashtuns, still lacks sufficient arms and supplies for any full-scale strike on the Taliban.
    The Alliance's officials say they have yet to receive any substantial arms shipments needed for any assault. Those arms are expected to come from Russia, one of the rebels' biggest military backers since they lost power to the Taliban in 1996.
    Arms would be shipped through Uzbekistan and paid for by the U.S. and other nations opposed to the Taliban.
    Once the flow of arms begins, problems could arise over how much weaponry the opposition forces can use effectively.
    One U.S. official familiar with Afghanistan said there are limits to what the alliance rebels, who are thought to number fewer than 15,000 men, can absorb.
    Meanwhile, the Northern Alliance fighters appeared to be taking advantage of the U.S. attacks.
    On Wednesday (October 10), fighters at the front-line near Charatoi fired rockets and mortars at Taliban positions, less than a kilometre away.
    The Alliance has said it had seized control of the only remaining north-south highway after persuading 40 Taliban commanders and their 1,200 fighters to switch sides.
    If confirmed, the defections would deal a severe blow to the Taliban, who came to power in Kabul in 1996 and are now under attack from inside and out.
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