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Four Hundred Deaths Confirmed in Fourth Day of U.S. Strikes
With reports by Aamir Latif, IOL correspondent in Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Oct 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Some 400 deaths have been confirmed Wednesday in various Afghan cities as U.S.-led air strikes continued for the fourth consecutive day.
Taliban government spokesman Maulvi Najeebullah told IslamOnline in Kandahar Thursday, "The U.S. jets pounded the Afghan cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Khost on the fourth consecutive day. However, in line with past, these attacks were also much far from the targets."
"The hospitals in these cities have confirmed around 50 deaths in the fresh attacks, an overwhelming majority of which is civilian," he said, adding that "about 100 civilians have been reported injured, most of them in Kabul."
The deaths reported in the latest attacks have pushed the number of casualties to 400. Between 800 and 1000 injured are being treated in general hospitals throughout the country.
Three cruise missiles and multiple bombs were dropped on the suburban towns of Maroof and Arghasan, killing at least 10 civilians - including women and children - and injuring 30 residents, the Afghan spokesman said.
He added that another 19 deaths were reported in Kabul, 13 from Jalalabad and eight from Khost in the latest attacks.
In Maroof, heavy explosions thundered around a Taliban military academy. Buildings miles away shook with the fury of the attack. No casualties, however, were reported.
Amid deafening sounds of anti-aircraft guns fired by Taliban fighters, U.S. jets roamed the skies for more than two hours seeking out targets on the fringes of this already war-torn city.
There was a total blackout in and around the city and a number of citizens, who had already dug deep bunkers in their houses, were successful in keeping themselves safe from the air strikes.
According to CNN news online, at least 30 loud explosions rocked Kandahar over a two-hour period, with military fuel depots, barracks and heavy armor as targets.
Civilians in cars and on foot took to the streets in panic, CNN added.
U.S. aircraft returned to the skies over Kandahar city early Thursday pounding sites near the airport.
In two sorties, jets fired at least 11 heavy-detonation projectiles that lit up the night sky, surging flames skyward. Taliban gunners returned fire with anti-aircraft weapons as thick clouds of black smoke rose from the direction of the airport.
A Taliban spokesman claimed that no major damage occurred to the airport building and runway. However, the airport has been closed.
The towns of Hilmand and Rozgan, some 70 kilometers from Kandahar, were also bombed. However, information about the loss of life and property is still lacking.
Rozgan is the native town of Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omer.
The Taliban official, meanwhile, denied U.S. claims that two adult male relatives of Mullah Omar were killed in bombing strikes Sunday on the leader's home in Kandahar.
All these reports are devoid of truth, he added.
Powerful explosions could also be heard around Kabul airport in the north of the city, and to the west in the direction of Rishkore and Kargah.
The official said Osama bin Laden was still alive, as was Mullah Omar.
"The United States continues to fly raids over several pivotal Afghan areas seemingly at will, and while administration officials indicate the air strikes may soon have to give way to something else, they aren't saying what that something will be," CNN reported.
The Pentagon opted not to hold an official daily briefing Wednesday, it added.
U.S. President George W. Bush informed members of Congress by letter Tuesday of his intention to deploy ground troops for combat operations, but the administration has not said anything about when or where that might happen, CNN reported.
Earlier in Washington, officials said there would probably be a role for ground forces in Afghanistan soon, with an emphasis on special operations forces. One senior official said ground forces would have a "significant role at times, but limited in number," CNN reported.
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