December 4, 2001

Afghans Agree on Government Plan, Fighting Rages
By Sayed Salahuddin and Adam Tanner
Tuesday December 4 8:12 PM ET
KABUL/BONN (Reuters) - Afghanistan inched closer to forging an interim government on Tuesday as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld pledged to drive Taliban troops out of their last

Afghan talks enter final phase
Wednesday, 5 December, 2001, 02:34 GMT BBC News
The talks aim to set the stage for rebuilding Afganistan
The four factions holding talks on Afghanistan's political future have started discussing what is thought to be the last major stumbling block, the make-up of an interim government.

Afghan opposition clash with al-Qaeda
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 23:00 GMT BBC News
Bin Laden may be hiding in the Tora Bora complex
Anti-Taleban fighters in Afghanistan say they have clashed with members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network near their cave hideout south of Jalalabad.

Taliban Resists in Some Pockets North of Kabul
By ERIC SCHMITT and THOM SHANKER
The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — As the Americans marshaled their forces in the southern part of Afghanistan, the Pentagon today for the first time described several pockets of resistance

Q&A: Tough talks in a serene setting
December 4, 2001 Posted: 2:59 PM EST (1959 GMT)
KOENIGSWINTER, Germany (CNN) --Omar Samad is the Director of the Afghanistan Information Center, and is working as a CNN consultant during the meeting near Bonn, Germany.

Bonn deal paves way for interim rule; bin Laden under fire
Tuesday December 4, 10:04 PM AFP
Afghanistan took a first tentative step back to normality after more than two decades of conflict when rival Afghan factions agreed here on the ground rules for a new administration.

Omar 'lives in back of car to foil bombers'
By Julius Strauss in Kabul
Daily Telegraph (UK) (Dec 4, 2001)
MULLAH MOHAMMED OMAR, the one-eyed cleric who leads the Taliban, is living in the back of a car and never spends more than four hours in one place, according to a friend of his driver.

Four more Taliban pockets exist: US
Dawn (Pakistan)
By Our Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Dec 3: Apart from Kandahar in the south, there are at least four pockets of Taliban resistance in the north of Afghanistan, a couple of them west of Mazar-i-Sharif and the others to the east.

U.S. soldier shot and wounded in Afghanistan
Wednesday December 5, 8:40 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier was shot in the shoulder and wounded during combat in Afghanistan on Tuesday and was in stable condition, a U.S. defence official said.

Afghan elders reject Bonn summit
Dawn (Pakistan)
By Intikhab Amir
PESHAWAR, Dec 3: A large group of Afghan elders and chieftains, met here on Monday under the auspices of the Afghanistan National Defender Islamic Front, rejected the under-progress
 
First draft of UN-sponsored Afghan agreement
December 2 2001 20:49GMT
The Financial Times
Agreement on provisional arrangements in Afghanistan pending the establishment of permanent government institutions.

2,000 flee Kandahar each day, says UN
By Alex Spillius in Chaman
Daily Telegraph (UK) (Dec 4, 2001)
THOUSANDS of people have joined an exodus from Kandahar, the last city held by the Taliban, as it has come under intensified US bombing and pressure from Afghan tribal forces.

Six Shaven Afghans Have Noses, Ears Cut Off
Tuesday December 4 10:09 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen waylaid six men in eastern Afghanistan and cut off their noses and ears, apparently for having shaved off their beards, an Afghan news service said on Tuesday.

3,000 lay down arms as last Taliban give up fight in north
By David Filipov, Boston Globe Staff, 12/4/2001
CHAR DARA, Afghanistan - Thousands of Taliban fighters laid down their weapons and surrendered to Northern Alliance forces yesterday, bringing to an end the puritanical Islamic militia's

Rabbani, Stubborn Survivor, Intent on Maintaining Power
Younger, Western-Leaning Figures Rising in Alliance
By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, December 4, 2001; Page A14
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 3 -- Four decades ago, when he was a young theology student at Kabul University, Burhanuddin Rabbani became active in the growing Islamic movement at the school.

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Breakthrough in Bonn as Afghan rivals agree to interim government
Tuesday December 4, 6:44 PM AFP
Rival Afghan groups meeting in Germany struck an historic agreement on a post-Taliban interim government, the first step along a road the UN hopes will lead Afghanistan to democratic elections

Afghan Talks Face Last, but Tall, Hurdle
By Adam Tanner
Tuesday December 4 7:42 AM ET
BONN, Germany (Reuters) - Rival Afghans struck a breakthrough deal on Tuesday on a U.N. blueprint for a broad-based interim government, and were looking for quick agreement over

US to Pursue Afghan Campaign Despite Interim Govt
By Sanjeev Miglani
Tuesday December 4 7:02 AM ET
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A top U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday the military campaign against the Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan and its Taliban protectors would go on even as an interim government

Tribesmen Battle Taliban Amid Air Strikes
By Andy Soloman
Tuesday December 4 7:59 AM ET
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Tribal fighters said on Tuesday they had edged closer to the Taliban's last bastion of Kandahar amid heavy U.S. air strikes, as Afghan factions drew nearer

US targets last Taleban stronghold
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 06:14 GMT BBC News
US marines are building their presence on the ground
US warplanes have continued to target the Taleban stronghold of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, amid reports that opposition groups are closing on the city.

One woman vice president in Afghan provisional government
KABUL, Dec 4 (AFP) - One of five vice presidents to be appointed in Afghanistan's provisional government will be a woman, Northern Alliance foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah said Tuesday.

Taleban 'defectors' in Kandahar appeal
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 10:46 GMT BBC News
Kandahar has been under sustained US attack
By Zafar Abbas in Islamabad
Several prominent members of Afghanistan's Taleban movement are trying to persuade their leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, to hand over control of Kandahar to local Pashtun

Afghan Child Soldiers Proud to Fight Until War Ends
By Michael Steen
Tuesday December 4 7:39 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban killed Abdul Rahim's father, so he joined the ranks of the Northern Alliance and carries his Kalashnikov assault rifle with pride. He is 14 and one of Afghanistan's

Aid crisis as Afghan children die
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 12:40 GMT BBC News
Small children were dying even before the cold set in
Babies and infants stranded in northern Afghanistan are dying as temperatures in the war-ravaged country continue to plummet, the UK charity Save the Children has warned.

Hundreds Flee Kandahar as Pressure Rises
Fear of Massacre Haunts Taliban Surrender Talks
By John Pomfret
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, December 4, 2001; Page A01
CHAMAN, Pakistan, Dec. 3 -- U.N. officials said today that hundreds of Afghan civilians are fleeing Kandahar every day in the face of relentless U.S. bombing and mounting pressure by U.S.-backed

Afghan airline returns to the skies
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 12:25 GMT BBC News
Taking to the skies again: Ariana Afghan's test flight
By Alan Johnston in Kabul
Driving up to Kabul international airport means negotiating a checkpoint manned by Northern Alliance fighters - the first sign that this is no ordinary airport.

Afghan women want their voices heard
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 12:03 GMT BBC News
Many women are still sceptical about the future
Afghan women's leaders are meeting in the Belgian capital Brussels for a two-day summit on the future of Afghanistan.

Marine Force Turns Desolate Airstrip Into a High-Tech Base
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
The New York Times
WITH MARINE TASK FORCE 58, in Southern Afghanistan, Dec. 3 — No one at the Pentagon likes to say the Marines own this piece of Afghanistan, but they are clearly making it their own.

Japanese delegation on visit to Kabul
Frontier Post 12/4/2001 9:03:14 AM
Islamabad (PPI): A four-member delegation of Japanese high officials has left for Kabul from here on Monday on a one-week tour in order to review the possibility of re-opening of Japan Embassy

Jordan to set up soon field hospital in Afghanistan: PM
AMMAN, Dec 4 (AFP) - Jordan will soon set up a field hospital in Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian mission which could develop into a peacekeeping force at a later stage

FM Spokeswoman on Afghanistan
Tuesday, December 04, 2001 5:41 AM EST
BEIJING, Dec 4, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- China will consider re-opening its embassy in Afghanistan when there is reconciliation in Afghanistan and an interim government is formed

Jihad Continues Even if Bin Laden Killed -Al Qaeda
Tuesday, December 04, 2001 3:43 AM EST
KUWAIT (Reuters) - The spokesman for al Qaeda network said the Jihad holy war would continue even if its leader Osama bin Laden was killed, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Tuesday.