Strong Explosions Heard Near Afghan Capital Kabul
Thursday October 11 7:11 PM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - A series of up to eight strong explosions were heard from areas around the beleaguered Afghan capital Kabul early on Friday, as U.S.-led attacks continued through their fifth night.

``There were up to five very strong explosions, I think it was about 15 km (nine miles) to the northwest of Kabul,'' one resident said. ``Taliban fighters were firing anti-aircraft fire.''

He said that a lone jet had also screamed over the city.

``Now, there's another one, another very, very strong explosion,'' he added. ``That's three more in the last few minutes, the last one I saw from the window, it was to the west of Kabul.''

Earlier, up to five U.S. jets bombed areas south of the capital, apparently hitting a Taliban munitions dump, sending balls of flame into the night sky.

Up to 220 people are reported to have been killed in the U.S.-led air strikes since Sunday in pursuit of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his Taliban protectors.