American B-52 bombers have resumed bombing Taliban front lines north of the Afghan capital Kabul in what opposition forces have described as one of the fiercest attacks yet, according to the BBC.
The heavy bombers struck at least twice at the strategic Tutakhan hills, where entrenched Taliban fighters have made the opposition-held Bagram air base unusable.
Columns of dust and smoke billowed into the sky, and the blast from the exploding bombs shook buildings some distance away from the front line.
The White House earlier confirmed that bombing would not be suspended during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in mid-November.
Several Islamic leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, had voiced fears that a continuation of the raids during Ramadan - a month-long period of fasting for Muslims around the world - could cause major unrest in their countries.
US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that the US "could not afford" to pause for Ramadan.
A BBC correspondent in northern Afghanistan said that opposition commanders were pleased to hear that the US planned to continue its campaign.
Intense US bombing of Taliban positions in northern Afghanistan resumed Friday as the militia reportedly prepared to hang captured followers of ex-king Zahir Shah.
AFP said that at least one US B-52 heavy bomber pounded Taliban frontline positions on the Shomali plain 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Kabul, quoting witnesses.
A second set of bombs fell on hills that dominate the west of the plains. Residents also reported a heavy bombing raid just before dawn.
The Taliban, meanwhile, was preparing to hang captured supporters of a top royalist aide who was on an undercover mission in Afghanistan, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.
The Islamic militia was reported to have captured 25 followers of former Afghan deputy foreign minister Hamid Karzai in a confrontation in Deharwad in Uruzgan province.
The Pakistan-based agency quoted Taliban sources as saying execution orders had been issued for "important" members of the detained group and they were expected to be hanged on Friday, probably in the Taliban bastion of Kandahar.
Militia fighters were still hunting for Karzai, AIP said.
Karzai is believed to be on a similar mission to late Afghan opposition leader Abdul Haq, who the Taliban captured and executed last week along with two associates. Abdul Haq was believed to be trying to encourage a rebellion against the Taliban, drawing on the ethnic ties he shares with much of their support base, the Pashtun tribe.
The Taliban claimed that Americans had been captured, but the US denied the allegations as baseless.
The Taliban said four US helicopters had tried to rescue Karzai on Thursday night, but failed after Taliban troops acted on a tip-off and raided a hideout in Deharwad. Four supporters of the ex-king were killed and several others were wounded in the battle, according to sources quoted by AFP.
Karzai served as deputy foreign minister in the mujahedin's interim government after the fall of the communist regime in Afghanistan in 1992.
Sources said the influential Pashtun leader clandestinely entered Taliban-held areas last week.
The ex-king is the focus of attempts to form a post-Taliban government if US military operations, launched in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, succeed in ousting the militia.
Pakistan, meanwhile, was at the center of a new wave of diplomatic activity as the French, Saudi Arabian and Greek foreign ministers held talks in Islamabad on the anti-terrorism campaign, reported the agency.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal arrived on what was called an urgent and unexpected visit late Thursday for talks with President Pervez Musharraf.
No details were given, but it was his second visit in a week and he said there would be many more.
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Greece's George Papandreou were also to meet Musharraf on Friday.
Alleged terrorist leader Osama bin Laden reportedly urged Muslims in Pakistan to "confront the crusade against Islam" in a statement broadcast Thursday by the Arab satellite TV channel Al Jazeera.
An analyst, speaking to the station, predicted that the call would have a strong effect at the street level in Pakistan on Friday.
Bin Laden accused Pakistan's government of "standing under the banner of the Cross while Muslims are being slaughtered in Afghanistan."
Al Jazeera said it obtained a copy of the statement carrying a signature which was "the same signature which appeared in a previous statement" by the Afghan-based Islamist militant.
In addition, the Taliban reaffirmed a claim to have shot down a US plane in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, saying no pilot had been found.
The United States has strongly denied that any of its aircraft have been lost in Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesman said the plane was a jet but told AFP there was no trace of the pilot when the wreckage was found.
He gave no other details, but the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan told AIP that the plane crashed in a desert near Char Bolak in the northern province of Balkh.
"The plane was shot down in Balkh province and Taliban have reached the plane and there was no pilot," ambassador Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was quoted as saying by AIP.
He said the plane was bombing Taliban frontline positions when it was shot down.
The Islamic militia, under attack since October 7 for its refusal to hand over bin Laden, has previously claimed to have shot down US helicopters.
The White House has accused the Taliban of making "gross exaggerations" about American losses.
According to the BBC, America is also moving to step up its propaganda war against the Taliban with plans to launch a "Radio Free Afghanistan."
A committee of the US House of Representatives has approved legislation on the radio service, which will broadcast in local languages to explain America's military goals.
The radio initiative, which will cost about $20 million, is accompanied by a decision to attempt to speed up the flow of information between the combat zone and the West.
Along with Britain, the US is setting up a rapid-reaction media center in Pakistan in a bid to counter "enemy propaganda" more efficiently – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
