|
TIM EWART: Anti-Taliban militia now control Kandahar and the area around
it. This is the nearby town of Spin Baldek, until today also a Taliban
stronghold. In Kandahar there was looting and gunfire as Pashtun militia
took over. Some Taliban crossed the border into Pakistan with an ominous
warning. This man said, "I had to leave, but, God willing, I will
go back to continue the fight." One former Taliban minister said
the movement's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had left Kandahar and was
on the run. Overnight, U.S. Marines based near Kandahar clashed with
a group of Taliban fighters, killing seven.
In the East of the country, troops of the Northern Alliance have been
pressing home their assault on the Tora Bora cave complex where Osama
bin Laden was believed to have been hiding. The alliance claimed today
that large parts of Tora Bora are now in their hands, and that they've
captured a number of Arab fighters from bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
Soldiers on the ground have been helping to coordinate American air
strikes. B-52 bombers were in action over Tora Bora again, their bombs
pounding hillsides and the entrances to caves. They also dropped leaflets
with pictures of bin Laden and a reminder of the $25 million price on
his head, but his whereabouts remain unknown.
|
