September 25, 2001

Bush Calls on Afghan Citizens to Help
By Steve Holland
Tuesday September 25 6:30 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Tuesday called on Afghan citizens disenchanted with Taliban rule to help the United States in its bid to punish Saudi exile Osama bin Laden for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Pakistan warns US not to aid anti-Taliban forces
Wednesday September 26, 3:43 AM
ISLAMABAD, Sept 25 (AFP) - Pakistan warned the United States Tuesday not to assist opposition forces in Afghanistan as other states tightened the screws on the impoverished country's Islamic

Afghan ex-king meets top US official
Tuesday, 25 September, 2001, 22:54 GMT 23:54 UK BBC News
The former king wants to help in any capacity
The former king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, has met with America's most senior diplomat in Italy to assess the situation in Afghanistan.

Taleban say attacks avenged US 'cruelty'
Tuesday, 25 September, 2001, 21:56 GMT 22:56 UK BBC News
Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has said the 11 September attacks on the United States were to avenge the "cruelty" of American foreign policy.
In a message to the American people on Tuesday

U.N. Prepares for 1.5 Million New Afghan Refugees
By Ovais Subhani
Tuesday September 25 12:22 PM ET
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - The United Nations prepared Tuesday for a flood of up to 1.5 million Afghan refugees, while Pakistani officials wavered over opening their borders to the masses

Bin Laden a monster: Saudi envoy
Wednesday September 26, 5:38 AM
LONDON, Sept 25 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Britain on Tuesday branded Osama bin Laden, prime suspect behind the September 11 attacks on the United States, "a human monster"

US hails Saudi break with Taliban, says signal is sent
Wednesday September 26, 4:09 AM
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (AFP) - The United States on Tuesday hailed Saudi Arabia's decision to cut diplomatic ties with Afghanistan's Taliban, leaving the Islamic militia almost entirely isolated

Bush welcomes Saudi break with Taliban
Wednesday September 26, 3:26 AM
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (AFP) - President George W. Bush Tuesday praised Saudi Arabia for breaking ties with Afghanistan's Taliban and urged Afghans unhappy with the ruling militia to help

Taliban wants OIC role in crisis
 Islamabad, Sept 25, IRNA -- Afghanistan ruling Taliban on Tuesday backed Pakistan move to convene special meeting of the 56-member Organization of Islamic Conference to review the emerging regional situation.

Saudi Arabia breaks ties with Taliban regime
RIYADH, Sept 25 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia announced Tuesday it had broken off diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime in power in Afghanistan.

Pakistan says should not take sides in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said on Tuesday that the world should not try to impose a new government on Afghanistan if any U.S. strikes result

Taliban under siege as fighting rages in north
ISLAMABAD, Sept 25 (AFP) - The Taliban's bid to cling to power in Afghanistan suffered a double setback Tuesday with opposition forces gaining ground in the north and former ally Saudi Arabia

Taliban Arab fighters quit Afghan bases, some in Pakistan
MIRKHANI, Pakistan, Sept 25 (AFP) - Arab fighters loyal to Afghanistan's Taliban militia have quit their bases in the east of the country in anticipation of a US onslaught, witnesses arriving in Pakistan told AFP Tuesday.

France freezes 28 mln francs linked to Taliban, bin Laden
Tuesday September 25, 7:50 PM
PARIS, Sept 25 (AFP) - France has frozen 28 million francs (4.27 million euros) in assets linked to Afghanistan's Taliban militia and to Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Former commander says Afghans can defeat Taliban
Last Updated: 25 September, 2001 01:09 BST
By Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Afghan commander who staged rocket attacks on Kabul during the Soviet war says he is heading to Pakistan to organise a coordinated assault on the Taliban with opposition groups.

ANALYSIS-Afghan Taliban face internal, external pressure
By Jack Redden
ISLAMABAD, Sept 25 (Reuters) - In Afghanistan, a country of shifting alliances, Washington is searching for signs of doubts inside the Taliban about the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar.

U.N. to resume food aid shipments to Afghanistan
By David Brough
ROME, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) decided on Tuesday to resume food aid shipments to Afghanistan suspended after the September 11 attacks against the United States.

Groups Could Help Find bin Laden and Assist American Attacks
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT
New York Times9/25/01
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — The Bush administration is backing efforts to build an internal coalition in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and his Taliban supporters. Such a coalition could collect

U.S. Official, Ex-Afghan King Talk
ROME (Kyodo) Afghanistan's former king met Tuesday with the top U.S. official in Italy as diplomatic activity intensified around the monarch, who aides say wants to help his country find peace.

Wounded Taliban left isolated on all fronts
By David Fox
ISLAMABAD, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban were struck a blow on Tuesday when Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, cut off all ties with the puritanical Muslim regime.

Kabul residents returning home as fears of US attacks ease
by Said Mohammad Azam
KABUL, Sept 25 (AFP) - Kabul residents who fled the city for fear of a US attack have begun to return to the capital in the belief that residential areas will not be targetted.

Refugees dream of returning to rebuild Afghanistan
Peshawar |Reuters | 25-09-2001
More than two decades of war have reduced Afghanistan's cities to rubble, its infrastructure to shreds, and its elite have fled into exile. But the young dream of returning to rebuild their war-ravaged land.

Who is Laden, how does he operate from hideout?
The Daily Star
Harun ur Rashid
It appears that the US, the only superpower in the world, is pitted against an individual who allegedly directs global network of terrorists from hideout in Afghanistan. It is a strange phenomenon at this

Russia to Help Afghan Opposition, Open Aid Route
By Michael Steen
Monday September 24 6:24 PM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said Monday it would arm Afghanistan's anti-Taliban opposition and open an air route for humanitarian aid if the United States attacked the country it accuses of sheltering

U.S. to Seek Splits in Taliban Ranks -Powell
Monday, September 24, 2001 8:44 PM EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will try to split the Taliban movement that rules Afghanistan as part of its plans to break up Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday.

US activates anti-terror strategies two weeks after attacks
Tuesday September 25, 9:09 AM
WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (AFP) - Two weeks after the devastating attacks against it, the United States was on Tuesday activating its multi-pronged strategy against terrorism, homing in on suspect groups'

Former US embassy attacked as Afghan students rally for war
KABUL, Sept 24 (AFP) - More than 1,000 Afghan Taliban, or Islamic students, staged an angry demonstration outside the former US embassy building here Monday, vowing a fight to the death in defence of their country.

UN should take notice of Afghan airspace violations: Taliban
 Islamabad, Sept 24, IRNA - Taliban envoy to Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef has asked the United Nations to take note of violatins of Afghan airspace by the United States.

Taliban praise Chinese position on US threats
 Islamabad, Sept 24, IRNA - Taliban on Monday praised China for adopting what they called principled stand on the US threats to Afghanistan.

Afghan ex-king holds court in Rome
BBC News
The former king of Afghanistan, Mohammed Zahir Shah, has spoken of his longing to return to Afghanistan, as he prepares to meet a delegation from the country's anti-Taleban alliance.

Taleban seize Afghan food aid
Monday, 24 September, 2001, 17:06 GMT 18:06 UK BBC News
Medical supplies are running low in Afghanistan
Taleban officials have reportedly seized about 1,400 tonnes of food from a UN food agency office in Afghanistan, which aid workers fear is on the brink of a massive humanitarian crisis.

Taliban FM warns Uzbekistan
 Islamabad, Sept 24, IRNA -- Afghanistan ruling Taliban Monday sounded a note of warning to Uzbekistan that it will be responsible for any dire consequences if it allows the use of its airspace to the U.S.

Mutawakkil seeks OIC help against U.S
 Islamabad, Sept 24, IRNA -- The Afghanistan ruling Taliban Monday asked the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to take note of American threats to Afghanistan and said that big countries must

Afghanistan currency strengthens
The Afghani is expected to drop sharply if the US take military action
By the BBC's Afghanistan correspondent Kate Clarke
Money changers in Kabul have reported that the national currency of Afghanistan has strengthened, after losing 10% of its value in the initial aftermath of the attacks on America.

Taliban religious doctrine inspired by Saudi Wahhabism
DUBAI, Sept 24 (AFP) - Wahhabism, the creed of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden, is a puritanical form of Islam that emerged in the Arabian peninsula and has spread

Bush Executive Order Freezes Assets of Terrorists
24 September 2001
Washington -- In response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, President Bush has signed an executive order freezing the financial assets of 27 terrorist organizations and individuals