December 15, 2001

Al Qaeda Chechens fight to death in Tora Bora
By Sebastian Alison and Jeremy Page
Saturday December 15, 7:39 PM
TORA BORA/KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Chechen fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden fought to the death on Saturday in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in battles with U.S.

US, Afghan forces battle al-Qaeda amid reports of surrender
Saturday December 15, 5:10 PM AFP
US warplanes pounded cornered al-Qaeda fighters in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, amid reports that 300 fighters were willing to surrender to US and Afghan ground forces.

Saudis with grenades holed up in Afghan hospital
By Jeremy Page
Saturday December 15, 7:44 PM
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - In Ward Four of the Chinese Hospital in Kandahar, nine wounded Arabs loyal to Osama bin Laden clutch grenades to their chests

Marines Build Afghan Prison Camp for Al Qaeda
Saturday December 15 8:52 AM ET
CAMP RHINO, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. Marines are preparing a prison camp at Kandahar airport in Afghanistan for up to 300 al Qaeda fighters who might surrender or be captured

Afghan Minister Wants Limits on Security Force
By Evelyn Leopold
Friday December 14 9:52 PM ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - To the annoyance of Britain and other nations, Afghanistan's current and future interim foreign minister said on Friday he accepted a new multinational security force

Al Qaeda Chechens Fight to Death in Tora Bora
By Sebastian Alison and Jeremy Page
Saturday December 15 6:14 AM ET
TORA BORA/KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Chechen fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden fought to the death on Saturday in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in battles with U.S.

Hundreds of Afghan Refugees Stranded Outside Camp
Saturday December 15 7:33 AM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Some 300 Afghan refugee families have been stranded for a month outside a packed refugee camp in southwestern Afghanistan on the border with Iran, an Iranian Red

50 al-Qaeda surrender in fierce cave fighting: Rumsfeld
Saturday December 15, 12:11 PM AFP
Some 50 al-Qaeda fighters surrendered as US and Afghan forces advanced two kilometers in fierce cave battles in eastern Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said here.

Afghanistan needs eight billion euros in next five years: Prodi
LAEKEN, Belgium, Dec 14 (AFP) - Afghanistan will need around eight billion euros (7.2 billion dollars) in aid over the next five years, European Commission President Romano Prodi said Friday.

Pakistan detains Taleban volunteers
Friday, 14 December, 2001, 18:32 GMT BBC News
The tribesmen had machine guns and swords
More than 100 Pakistanis have been arrested on their return from Afghanistan where they had gone to join Taleban forces.

Few Afghans View bin Laden Video
By LAURA KING, AP Special Correspondent
Friday December 14 1:13 PM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - In a country where possessing a television was a criminal act only weeks ago, where satellite dishes are fashioned from flattened tin cans

US, Afghan forces battle Al-Qaeda; Bush condemns video doubters
Saturday December 15, 2:01 PM AFP
US and Afghan forces were engaged in fierce combat with al-Qaeda fighters in eastern Afghanistan, as US President George W. Bush denounced those who still doubted Osama bin Laden's responsibility

Quietly, in Dark, Karzai Arrives in Kabul
Designated Interim Leader Shuns Spotlight as He Attempts to Mollify Jealous Rivals
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, December 14, 2001; Page A29
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 13 -- Hamid Karzai, the tribal leader chosen to guide Afghanistan into the post-Taliban era, swept into the capital under the cover of darkness today on a quiet mission

Afghan Guerrillas Confident They'll Be Kings of the Mountains
By Susan B. Glasser and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, December 14, 2001; Page A28
TORA BORA, Afghanistan, Dec. 13 -- Never mind the lack of satellite phones and Global Positioning Systems and night-vision goggles. Or the meager dinners of donated American beans.

Taliban to stage comeback: Taliban Defence Minister
Islamabad, Dec 14, IRNA - Taliban former Defence Minister Mullah Abdul Razaq says Taliban will soon occupy the whole Afghanistan within one month.

Studying history at Kabul University
Saturday, 15 December, 2001, 14:06 GMT BBC News
Afghanistan's education system is slowly starting to recover
By Alan Johnston in Kabul
An old Kabul University professor I know, a tall, thin man with a greying beard, loves to talk of the years when he was a student on the campus.

American General Asserts 300 to 1,000 Enemy Fighters Have Been 'Contained'
By JOHN KIFNER with JAMES DAO The New York Times
Saturday December 15 09:02 AM EST
American and British commandos, operating behind a screen of Afghan fighters, have cornered 300 to 1,000 enemy soldiers - and perhaps Osama bin Laden.