October 18, 2001

U.S. Warplanes Pound Afghan Targets for 13th Day
Thursday October 18 9:15 AM ET
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. bombs pounded Taliban troops and armor in Afghanistan on Thursday in a 13th day of strikes that have savaged anti-aircraft defenses and are driving

Bush in China, Mideast Complicates Afghan War
Thursday October 18 7:22 AM ET
By Jerry Norton
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - President Bush arrived in China on Thursday for an Asian summit with the Middle East complicating his war on terrorism and Americans at home wondering

No date set for talks on post-Taliban gov't in Afghanistan
JABAL-US-SARAJ, Afghanistan, Oct. 18 (Kyodo) - Almost two weeks have passed since the foreign minister for the opposition Northern Alliance, Abdullah Abdullah, announced that a supreme

UN wary of Powell's peacekeeping plans
BBC News
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said leaders representing "all aspects" of Afghan society should take over the country once the Taleban regime falls.

Afghan exiles condemn Taliban
October 18, 2001
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (CNN) -- A meeting of exiled Afghan mujahideen commanders, tribal elders and religious leaders ended Thursday with a resolution condemning terrorism and blaming

U.S. propaganda to Taliban: 'You are condemned'
From Jamie McIntyre - CNN Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon is sending radio broadcasts into Afghanistan telling the Taliban they are "condemned," and the messages seem to suggest that U.S. troops

Burns: Taliban fighting back
October 18, 2001 - CNN Correspondent Chris Burns
NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN (CNN) -- On the twelfth day of U.S.-led airstrikes on Afghanistan, reports suggest the bombing is not as intense as it previously has been. Other reports,

Taliban oppose creation of refugee camps on Afghan soil
TEHRAN, Oct 18 (AFP) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia have opposed Iran's idea of building refugee camps on Afghan soil, forcing Tehran to use the "no man's land" between

Afghan minister seeks swap for bin Laden
By Ben Barber - THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Afghan foreign minister has vanished after contacting Pakistani officials and the former king of Afghanistan seeking a deal that could lead to the surrender of terrorism kingpin Osama bin Laden.

Up to 100 bin Laden men arrested in Saudi: opposition
DUBAI, Oct 18 (AFP) - Saudi authorities have arrested 80-100 activists on suspicion of links with prime terror suspect Osama bin Laden, a Saudi opposition group told AFP on Thursday.

U.S. splits Afghanistan into 'engagement zones'
By Rowan Scarborough - THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Pentagon announced yesterday its 11-day air campaign shifted this week to the new tactic of "engagement zones." Confident that much of the ruling Taliban's air defenses have been subdued

Taliban arrest foreigner
Frontier Post
ISLAMABAD (Xinhua): A foreign "dummy", who refuses to tell anything about himself, has been arrested by the Afghan Taliban in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, according

At Least 60 Killed in 2 Afghan Cities - Officials
Thursday October 18 9:30 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - More than 60 people have been killed in a fierce bombardment of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the southern city of Kandahar since Wednesday morning

Taliban, Opposition Gear Up Near Key North City
Thursday, October 18, 2001 9:03 AM EST
JABAL-US-SARAJ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Forces opposed to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban plan to link their fighters on the battlefield for a joint advance on a strategic northern city,

Report: Bomb Kills bin Laden Deputy
Thursday, October 18, 2001 8:10 AM EDT
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- A top deputy of Osama bin Laden has reportedly said U.S. troops will suffer the same fate in Afghanistan they did in Somalia, where bodies

US attacks ease off as Bush signals switch to ground assault
Thursday October 18, 5:57 PM
KABUL, Oct 18 (AFP) - US warplanes struck Afghanistan for a 12th straight day Thursday but the number and intensity of attacks was less than in previous days after President George W. Bush

Afghan opposition commander, Russian army chief meet in Tajikistan
Thursday October 18, 4:18 PM
DUSHANBE, Oct 18 (AFP) - The military commander of Afghanistan's opposition, General Mohammad Qassim Fahim, held talks in Dushanbe Thursday with Russian military supremo

'Moderate' Taliban discussing bin Laden handover: diplomatic source
Thursday October 18, 3:46 PM
ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (AFP) - The United States is having indirect contact with "moderate" elements of Afghanistan's Taliban militia to seek the extradition of Osama bin Laden, a senior

Warplanes target Taliban stronghold of Kandahar
By Sayed Salahuddin
Thursday October 18, 3:46 PM
KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes saw fresh action over Afghanistan early on Thursday, targeting the ruling Taliban's southern stronghold of Kandahar which was rocked by a series

Spy vs spy vs spy: Afghanistan's Great Game back in business
Thursday October 18, 1:52 PM
JABAL SERAJ, Afghanistan, Oct 18 (AFP) - A disguised Russian advisor winding his way through the Hindu Kush mountains; A British agent scouting the Pashtun tribal belt

Afghan Taliban Deserters Offer Few Real Clues
By Mike Collett-White
Thursday October 18 9:52 AM ET
JAHAM CHI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Disgruntled Taliban fighters may have started defecting in small numbers to opposition forces in the north of Afghanistan but are offering

Don't Wage War on Afghan People, UNHCR Tells U.S.
Thursday October 18 8:16 AM ET
By Richard Murphy
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N.'s top refugee official urged the United States on Thursday to make sure its war against terrorism did not become a war against the Afghan people or the Islamic faith.

Afghan Opposition Plods Along, Bombing Races Ahead
Thursday October 18 7:25 AM ET
By Tom Heneghan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Plans for a post-Taliban leadership in Afghanistan plodded along amid delays and disputes on Thursday as U.S. forces raced ahead with bruising raids

Medical Aid Group Says Its Afghan Offices Looted
Thursday October 18 7:43 AM ET
By Scott McDonald
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Armed men ransacked compounds belonging to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in two Afghan cities this week, the group said on Thursday

Taleban return 'stolen' aid
Thursday, 18 October, 2001, 12:27 GMT 13:27 UK BBC News
Six million people urgently need aid, the WFP says.
Afghanistan's ruling Taleban have handed back a warehouse containing thousands of tonnes of grain seized from the World Food Programme (WFP).