Taliban defiant after U.S. wrath unleashed<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Kabul<\/p>\n
The Taliban emerged defiant on Monday from an overnight hail
\nof cruise missiles and bombs after the United States launched its
\nlong-awaited reprisal for the horror of last month.<\/p>\n
Taliban officials described U.S. and British strikes launched
\nlate on Sunday as \"horrendous terrorist attacks\" but denied that
\nthey had done any significant damage.<\/p>\n
More than 20 people were killed in the Taliban-held capital
\nKabul, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency reported.<\/p>\n
But both the leader of the hardline Islamic regime, Mullah
\nMohammed Omar, and its honored \"guest\" Osama bin Laden were safe,
\nsaid Maulvi Najeebullah, the Taliban consul in the northwestern
\nPakistani city of Peshawar.<\/p>\n
The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said
\nthe militia would not bow to U.S. demands to hand over bin Laden,
\na Saudi-born militant who is the prime suspect behind the Sept.
\n11 attacks on New York and Washington.<\/p>\n
\"Such brutal attacks will unify the whole Afghan nation. The
\nAfghan people will rise against this new colonial attempt,\" Zaeef
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The long wait for Washington's retaliation ended around 9:00
\np.m. (11:30 p.m. in Jakarta) when loud explosions across Kabul
\nand abrupt cuts in electricity heralded the first bombing raid.<\/p>\n
U.S. President George W. Bush said the strikes' targets were
\nterrorist training camps established by bin Laden and military
\ninstallations of the Taliban regime.<\/p>\n
Strikes aimed at crippling the Taliban's defenses by
\ndestroying anti-aircraft batteries, radar facilities and
\nairfields were spread across the country and continued
\nsporadically throughout the night.<\/p>\n
Jets could be heard flying high over Kabul as the night sky
\nlit up with explosions and strings of tracer bullets from Taliban
\nanti-aircraft guns placed around the capital and the surrounding
\nhills.<\/p>\n
The attacks, believed to have targeted the airport, began just
\nbefore the imposition of the regular nightly curfew in the
\ncapital, and residents said there was no sign of panic among
\ncivilians.<\/p>\n
Bombing was also reported around the Taliban's southern
\nstronghold of Kandahar, where bin Laden has a home.<\/p>\n
Members of the anti-Taliban opposition said the eastern city
\nof Jalalabad, Farah in the west, Kunduz near the border with
\nTajikistan, and the strategic northern town of Mazar-i-Sharif had
\nalso been targeted.<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced the strikes
\nhad been accompanied by air drops of humanitarian aid to
\nAfghanistan's beleaguered population, millions of whom are
\nvulnerable to starvation after years of war and drought.<\/p>\n
Jubilant opposition forces, poised as close as 50 kilometers
\nnorth of the capital, fired a barrage of rockets and artillery at
\nTaliban positions and said they were poised to launch an infantry
\nonslaught across the country.<\/p>\n
\"We are waiting for orders for General Fahim. The United Front
\nis trying to cut off the Taliban from all sides,\" said a
\ncommander of the anti-Taliban via satellite phone from the
\nfrontlines near Samangan in northern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Pakistan, the main backer of the Taliban before the
\ndevastation in New York and Washington, voiced concern for the
\nlong-suffering civilians of Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\"One is hoping, and I have got definite assurances, that this
\noperation will be short, ought to be targeted and also it should
\nnot be having collateral damage,\" Pakistani President said.<\/p>\n
Gen. Musharraf confirmed that the U.S. and British strikes
\nused Pakistani airspace but said no attack was launched from
\nPakistani soil.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/taliban-defiant-after-us-wrath-unleashed-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}