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U.S. Planes Pound Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda Vows More Attacks
KABUL, Oct 14 (News Agencies) - U.S.-led forces resumed their bombing blitz over Afghanistan Saturday, as the al-Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden threatened fresh plane attacks on the United States and its allies, news agencies reported.
After a 24-hour respite for the Muslim holy day, the Afghan capital Kabul and four other cities came under heavy bombardment, beginning before dawn and continuing through the afternoon, late evening and into the early hours of Sunday morning, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
But the Taliban refused to give in, with its reclusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar dismissing any suggestion that the militia would hand over bin Laden - the Saudi-born dissudent blamed for the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
"We do not have any extradition treaty with America under which we can hand over the suspected people," the Afghan Islamic Press quoted Omar as saying.
"Our sin is that we have enforced Islamic laws in the country. We have given shelter to an innocent and shelterless Muslim who is not even allowed to spend an hour in any other country."
Bush had said Friday that the United States would reconsider its military actions if the Taliban surrendered bin Laden, who has been living in Afghanistan under Taliban protection since 1996.
Equally defiant was a statement by bin Laden's al-Qaeda network threatening more attacks against the United States and Britain.
"The storm of airplanes will not be calmed, if it is God's will," bin Laden aide Suleiman Abu Ghaith said in a recorded message broadcast by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera television network early Sunday.
"We tell and recommend Muslims not to get on airplanes and not live in towers and high buildings" in the countries which have carried out air and missiles strikes against Afghanistan, Ghaith said.
"It's just propaganda," White House spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise told AFP when asked to comment about Ghaith's statement.
She said the White House would issue no further comment at the moment.
The resumption of air strikes on Saturday, prompted fresh Taliban announcements of civilian casualties, including four killed and eight injured in the pre-dawn raid on Kabul.
The Pentagon confirmed that a 2,000-pound bomb aimed at a military helicopter had inadvertently hit a residential area near Kabul airport.
"We regret the loss of any civilian life," the Pentagon said in a statement.
The Taliban claims more than 400 civilians have been killed since the bombings began on October 7th. Western media cannot independently verify the death toll themselves due to restrictions on foreign journalists moving around the country.
Residents of a small farming community near the airport, Qalaewakil, told AFP that one woman died and three civilians were injured when at least one bomb destroyed five houses.
"We didn't think they would target civilians. They said they would target military positions and not civilian houses," said 18-year-old donkey owner Ammaduddin.
Saturday's air raids included what were believed to be the first afternoon strikes on the western city of Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif in the north, Taliban officials said.
Kabul and Herat airport were heavily bombed again overnight Saturday evening, with residents in the Afghan capital counting at least 15 explosions.
"One bomb seemed to fall right on the city center, but the other explosions came from the area of the airport," one resident said.
AIP reported similar bombardments of the eastern city of Jalalabad and the southern Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, where eyewitnesses reported a major fire at a military compound.
As U.S. jets shifted the focus of their attacks from air defenses to Taliban troop concentrations, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney alluded for the first time to the possible use of ground forces in the campaign.
Talking broadly about the nation's military options, Cheney said part of the operation could involve "boots on the ground."
"I mean, you know you're going to have an intelligence piece of it; you know you're going to have a military piece that's probably going to involve air, maybe some special ops, so-called boots on the ground, et cetera," Cheney told public television's "News Hour with Jim Lehrer."
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier said it was time for the Afghan forces opposed to the Taliban to move against the regime in the areas that had been bombed.
Afghanistan's opposition alliance on Saturday claimed fresh victories and Taliban defections, but the extent of their coordination with U.S.-led air strikes remained unclear and no major offensives were reported.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Abdullah Abdullah said an attack on Kabul was inevitable.
"Of course it will come, perhaps it is a matter of days," he said. "We are waiting for the right time to do it, from a military point of view."
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