17 killed in Taliban raids near quake area

DUSHANBE, Feb 7 (AFP) - Taliban air raids killed 17 people Friday in the capital of northern Afghanistan's Takhar province, not far from the site of a deadly quake that may have left up to 4,000 people dead, anti-Taliban sources said here Saturday. Takhar is controlled by the Afghan anti-Taliban alliance, which was forced out of Kabul in September 1996 by the Taliban Islamic militia into the north of the country. The Afghan charge d'affaires in Dushanbe -- who supports the alliance -- said Taliban planes had carried out six raids against the provincial capital Taloqan. It was not immediately clear if the raids took place before or after the Taliban announced a ceasefire on Friday following the quake in Takhar. The quake, which hit Wednesday, may have killed up to 4,400 people in the isolated region, local reports said.