The following is a synopsis of media reports about military activities in Afghanistan by the Northern Alliance, a group of Afghanis of primarily Tajik and Uzbek descent who have been fighting the Taliban for control of Afghanistan in the country's long-running civil wars. Reported Taliban responses are also included. Given the psychological impact of each side's propaganda in an effort to recruit support as well as the fluid nature of both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, actual troop strength may deviate substantially from what is reported. Equipment and weapons that are operationally useable may vary widely in number, type, and distribution; actual quantities of individual weapons are unknown. Click here for a chronology of the on-going action in and around the region.

Nov. 26, 2001

Northern Alliance/United Front/Opposition Fighters

Prison riot: Opposition fighters stormed a fortress controlled by former prisoners whose prison uprising on Nov. 25 left hundreds of prisoners and guards dead. U.S. forces provided air support while alliance fighters and some U.S. soldiers invaded the fortress. Prisoners, loyal to the Taliban or al Qaeda, defended their position with RPGs and mortars raided from an ammunition warehouse. "They're fighting until death. For this reason it has continued," said one alliance commander. "They won't hand themselves over alive." (AP) 2,000 Northern Alliance troops were in the fortress by nightfall, and at least six U.S. soldiers were also engaged in helping to coordinate the alliance's steps to quell the uprising, which, according to the alliance, left most of the prisoners, probably somewhere between 300-800, dead. Located 10 miles west of Mazar-e Sharif, the fortress prison held mostly Arab, Chechen, and Pakistani prisoners who turned themselves over under terms of a surrender deal intended to determine their ties to al Qaeda. Most were engaged in fighting in Kunduz. Before the riot, acting President Burhanuddin Rabbani told a news conference that these captive foreigners would be handed over to the United States or, if they were found not to be involved in Taliban leadership or terrorism, released. As a result of the riot, this could change.

Kunduz: 3,000 opposition fighters, led by Gen. Mohammad Daoud, entered Kunduz and fought a fierce battle that left about 100 soldiers, from both sides, dead. The opposition now claims control of the city after an all-night battle that included house-to-house searches for hiding Taliban fighters. Alliance fighters trying to secure the city in the morning did so under rifle fire and attacks from Taliban fighters with RPG's; in one such attack, commander Mullah Sabar was killed and four officers were wounded. Fighting continued in the district of Char Dara, 10 kilometers west of the city, although the surrender of more Taliban fighters helped de-escalate the battle. Widespread looting by opposition fighters was reported. Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum's forces remained camped about two miles outside of the city.

Kandahar: Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said the Taliban were "under great pressure" in Kandahar, where pockets of rebellion have begun to emerge. Abdullah told CBS that "the beginning of the end has already started." (AFP) Anti-Taliban tribal fighters in southern Afghanistan, supported by U.S. air strikes, took control of a key road and began their approach to the city. They also captured Toarkoter, an area about 5 kilometers from the airport. However, more than 20,000 Taliban fighters are thought to be massing in the city of Kandahar itself.

About 72 miles east of the city, near the major crossing between southern Afghanistan and Pakistan, the town of Spin Boldak was reportedly captured by tribal fighters. The town of Takhtapul is, after intense U.S. air strikes, is no longer under Taliban control.

Political situation: The Northern Alliance is beginning to engage in subtle diplomatic overtures with Pakistan. A Pakistani delegation is being sent to Dubai to meet Afghanistan's acting President Burhanuddin Rabbani, and contacts have been made with Uzbek Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum in Mazar.

 
Taliban Response

The Taliban refuses to negotiate the status of Kandahar, the only city that it continues to hold. The Taliban also denies the presence of U.S. troops at the Kandahar airport. The Afghan Islamic Press news agency said that the city was under intense U.S. bombardment as troops, tanks, and artillery material landed near an airport 20km; the Times of India reported that the AIP also said there were tribal uprisings elsewhere in the province. Taliban deputy secretary of foreign affairs Maulvi Najibullah rejected any talks that would ensure a peaceful handover of the city, by saying, "We are not ready to negotiate. We will continue our fight." He also denied claims that there was severe fighting in the town of Spin Boldak, where there are reports of high-level meetings between Taliban officials and commanders. The Taliban also claims that they are still in control of the airport, saying that there were many Taliban assembled in front of the airport, blocking the road and demonstrating their control over the base. A buildup of fighters has lost some momentum due to defections and surrenders, but is complicated for the opposition by foreign fighters who are slipping away to regroup and form guerrilla units.

In Kunduz, it was reported that around 5,750 Taliban fighters and foreign mercenaries surrendered to Afghan opposition forces. The foreign fighters will be regrouped in a "filtration camp" near Mazar-e Sharif and then handed over to UN officials.

 
Nov. 25, 2001

Northern Alliance/United Front/Opposition Fighters

Kunduz: An advance party of alliance forces entered Kunduz in preparation for the major offensive Nov. 26. A supporting force of 25 tanks is reportedly in position east of the city. Commander Gen. Daud Khan stated today that Taliban fighters still holding the city of Kunduz will face attacks if they do not surrender today. The forces of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum have reportedly captured 70 percent of the city by attacking from the west. Three separate leaders are positioning themselves to force the Taliban to surrender, but their efforts are not yet unified. American Special Forces troops on the ground are encouraging offensives by the opposition groups.

Later in the day, Northern Alliance troops captured the city after 12 days of siege. Gen. Daoud Khan told the Associated Press that "all of Kunduz is under our control" and reported that the opposition fighters were pursuing fleeing Taliban troops headed toward the town of Chardara. Spokesman Ashraf Nadeem first announced that the city had been breached, identifying the commander as Mir Alam, a top lieutenant of Gen. Atta Mohammad.

Political situation: Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani announced that he was prepared to hand over power as soon as the leading Afghan factions agree on an interim government. Rabbani, whose party is running Kabul, may see himself as the leading candidate to head a transitional administration, in which his party would have a majority. Rabbani stated that he does agree with the UN and the major powers that are insisting on a multiparty system as a safeguard against the factional fighting that marred his presidency for the four years until his 1996 ouster. Their delegation to the UN conference, where the alliance will hold 11 of 21 spots, left on 25 November for Bonn. Younus Qanooni, who is in charge of security in Kabul, is leading the delegation, which includes one woman.

Rabbani also stated that the Northern Alliance would not seek retribution against the Taliban or their foreign allies as long as they surrendered and handed over their weapons.

The outcome of a meeting of hundreds of ethnic Pashtun in northwestern Pakistan was a call for a multinational peacekeeping force. Convened by the Ahmedzai, the largest Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan, the delegates also called for a demilitarized Kabul and publicly floated the idea of amnesty for Taliban fighters in exchange for the peaceful surrender of Kandahar.

 
Nov. 24, 2001

Northern Alliance/United Front/Opposition Fighters

Gen. Rashid Dostum moved at least eight tanks, rocket launchers, and some troops from positions west of Kunduz to the eastern front line to support Gen. Daoud Khan's troops at the eastern front. A U.S. official reported that the Northern Alliance might soon be making its move toward the Taliban's last remaining area of control. Advance elements of a force entered Helmand province, west of Kandahar, and fighting was also reported near Bala Zare, 60 miles east of Kandahar. Dostum claims to have struck a deal for the handover of Kunduz on Nov. 18. Fighters under a former governor, Gul Agha, may have attacked Taliban positions with air support from U.S. warplanes, although the Taliban claims they were driven back with heavy casualties — no reports were confirmed. Weapons handovers in Maidan Shahr and Kunduz may have yielded, for the Taliban, a helicopter and other heavy weaponry, including a multiple rocket launcher. Tribal leader Hamid Karzai, or Gul Afga Sherzai (unclear) captured a village on the road between Kandahar and the Pakistani border that was recaptured by the Taliban. There has been heavy American bombing in the area in recent days — this road, from Kandahar to Spin Boldak, is the last remaining supply line for the city.

Composition of the delegation to Bonn, where Afghan groups will meet to discuss the structure of a transitional government, remains a tense issue. Forty leaders of the United Front met in Kabul to discuss the participants. Hossein Anwari, a member of the United Front's Leadership Council, said that the composition will be decided after Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah meets with UN deputy representative for Afghanistan Francesc Vendrell.

Taliban Response

Varying press sources reported the surrender of 1,000-2,000 pro-Taliban fighters in Kunduz. The commander of the Taliban forces at maidan Shahr, Haji Ghulam Mohammed Maidani, told the BBC that his forces were being allowed to return to their homes. Northern Alliance commanders claimed that the first group of foreign fighters to surrender broke out of the attack lines around Kunduz and reached the village of Qalai Qul Mohammed, where they turned over their weapons (AP). Some of the Taliban defectors reportedly kept their weapons, deciding their switch should be complete, and vowed to attack the foreigners recruited to fight with them inside the Taliban's last northern stronghold. Many foreign as well as regular Taliban troops have vowed to defend the city to the end. There is danger that the foreign fighters, intensely despised by alliance fighters, will be the victims of retribution killings and not even be tried if there are legal proceedings — the U.S. has strongly opposed any surrender deal that allows foreign fighters to be released. Hundreds of foreign fighters were among those who surrendered, and none are provided safe passage. Instead, these Arabs, Chechens, Pakistanis, and others will be detained for investigations into their connections with al Qaeda. Some of the fighters in Kunduz may be key lieutenants of the al Qaeda network, and there are reports that Pakistani fighters are making last-ditch escape efforts aboard flights leaving the city's airport.

While the Taliban conceded defeat in Kunduz, Kandahar is being bitterly defended by troops that may be supported by as many as 500 tanks. Mullah Bismillah, a commander formerly in charge of a Taliban ammunition depot in the city, indicated that the Taliban had "all kinds of weapons and ammunition" and would provide a robust defense capability. "I myself saw 500-600 tanks in Kandahar city," he said.

 
Nov. 20-23, 2001

Northern Alliance/United Front/Opposition Fighters

The Northern Alliance agreed to attend a UN-brokered power-sharing conference of Afghan factions. The conference will be held in Germany, but President Burhanuddin Rabbani, while lending his support, said that the critical decisions on Afghanistan's future political landscape must take place inside Afghanistan. Although he demanded the talks be held in Kabul, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said they would send a delegation with representatives from all of its five factions and announced formal acceptance of the invitation.

The alliance gave the Taliban three days to surrender their last northern stronghold, Kunduz, or face an assault. Anti-Taliban forces now claim to control 85 percent of the country, augmented by the seizure of the settlement of Khanabad on Nov. 23. Fighting continued with short breaks overnight and in the morning, with Taliban fighters and foreign mercenaries offered fierce resistance.

Taliban Response

Under heavy pressure from U.S. bombing, thousands of trapped Taliban fighters in Kunduz have agreed to a tentative surrender deal. Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum told the BBC that the agreement was reached in a phone conversation with Mullah Dadullah, commander of Taliban forces within the city. Dadullah's Afghan fighters would be allowed safe passage from the town in the agreement, but Dostum refused amnesty for foreign fighters. The Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zeef, confirmed the report.

Foreign mercenaries recruited by the Taliban may be shooting fighters considering surrender or defection. One report claimed that up to 300 fighters were believed assassinated in recent days.

 
Nov. 16-19, 2001

Northern Alliance/United Front/Opposition Fighters

Warlord Ismail Khan said he was determined to march on Kandahar despite opposition from ethnic Pashtun leaders. Khan, who has already retaken the city of Herat, told Reuters, "We all belong to Afghanistan. So we shouldn't consider occupying Kandahar as an invasion." Ethnic Pashtuns distrust the native Persian speaker, who also believes that since the liberation of Kabul, no foreign forces should be in Agfhanistan. The bombardment of Kandahar continued.

Although the Northern Alliance is in control of between 80 and 90 percent of Afghanistan, old rivalries are reportedly beginning to surface again. Diplomats at the UN headquarters in New York have received unconfirmed reports of possible clashes among factions now occupying Mazar-e Sharif. Policy differences are also emerging among Northern Alliance political leaders, most notably President Burhanuddin Rabbani and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. The United Nations cautioned the opposition against infighting, stressing that no one ethnic group will be permitted to dominate the provisional government.

Hamid Karzai denied rumors that another Afghan opposition group, led by former Kandahar governor, Gul Agha, may have fought a battle with Taliban defenders.

Taliban Response

Some reports state that the Taliban retook the town of Tarin Kowt in central Uruzgan province, although Hamid Karzai, supporter of ex-king Zahir Shah, said it is still under opposition control. A Taliban official, Maulvi Najeebullah, said that, in spite of reports, Kandahar remains peaceful. "All the Taliban are in their positions," he said.

Nov. 15, 2001

Northern Alliance/United Front/Opposition Fighters

A group of southern warlords announced they were sending a peace mission to Kandahar to try to end the conflict with as little violence as possible. Fighting in the streets of the city was reported. Anti-Taliban ethnic Pashtun forces have seized power in the towns and provinces between Kabul and Kandahar and control Nimruz province. The Northern Alliance has consolidated its gains as far south as Farah province in western Afghanistan. Anti-Taliban forces are planning an offensive against the forward Taliban position just west of Bangi, a village about 30 miles east of Kunduz that lies between Mazar-e Sharif and Taloqan. The Washington-based liaison for Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum said on Nov. 14 that a force of roughly 5,000 fighters were moving toward Kandahar in light trucks and on horseback from the western city of Herat. The rebels are encountering stiff resistance from Taliban Pashtuns in the mountains of southwestern Afghanistan, where U.S. Green Berets may be traveling with the force.

Taliban Response

The Taliban are currently fighting in three areas — in two pockets at Kunduz and near Baghlan (in the northern part of the country) and in the streets of the southern city of Kandahar. The Taliban reportedly vacated the city of Jalalabad, but one Shiite Muslim Northern Alliance leader, Saeed Hussein Anwari, told the Associated Press in Kabul that the city's status remained unclear.
 

Nov. 13-14, 2001

Sweeping gains yielded seven more provinces under Northern Alliance control, including several key cities including Kabul, Jalabad, Kunduz, and Herat. Younis Qanooni, the newly appointed head of the opposition's military commission for Kabul, said that the Taliban had lost Nangarhar, Kunar, and Laghman provinces in the east, the southern province of Ghazni, and the western region of Farah. Qanooni also said that the Taliban had evacuated the military airport of Shindand as they retreated from Farah. "I think the presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan is coming to an end. People are rising up against them in all parts of the country. If there is no cooperation from Pakistan, they will disappear very soon from all over the country," he said. (Daily Telegraph)

Attacks occurred across the 15-mile Shomali plain front gradually, with single squads of tanks and infantry attacking one entrenched Taliban position at a time. Preceded by closely coordinated air assaults, squads of 12-16 men (in some cases) would proceed to the front lines behind a tank or armored vehicle. Advancing alliance troops and U.S. cluster bombing of the positions was often enough to make the Taliban fighters flee, enabling rebels to overrun them.

The militia reportedly withdrew completely from Kabul on Nov. 13, allowing the opposition fighters to enter the city center and occupy several government buildings. A group led by Gen. Fahim was the first to enter Kabul. Gen. Dostum's forces, still in Mazar-e Sharif, as well as factions led by other warlords, have not yet reached Kabul. The city's occupation follows the withdrawal of Taliban forces en masse from the far north and west, beginning with the Nov.9 capture of Mazar.

Leaders around the world are encouraging the Northern Alliance to stay united and avoid a mass influx of competing factions into the city, where there is already danger of looting and mayhem. The rebels had been asked to refrain from entering the city, and had originally halted their advance 10 to 15 kilometers north of the city. The United States had asked the alliance to surround Kabul and strangle the Taliban forces there, rather than bringing the war to the city streets. Waisudin Salik, an opposition spokesman, said, "We will continue our victorious advance to the gates of Kabul. But for the time being we do not intend to enter the city." Yet commanders on the ground were eager to advance after capturing the districts of Qara Bagh, Nejrab, and Tagab during the Nov. 12 advance from the front lines 50km away. On Nov. 13, the furthest point of advance was along the Old Road leading north from Kabul (on the New Road, linking Kabul to the town of Bagram, they had reportedly gained only four kilometers), before an advance began around midday, when U.S. warplanes directed their attacks from the frontlines to targets within the capital. Alliance forces were persuaded, for the most part, to remain outside the city until an interim administration moved into government ministries and military installations on Nov. 13-14.

The town of Herat was also taken by forces led by its former governor, Ismail Khan, early on the morning of Nov. 13. The Northern Alliance also claims to be controlling the Sher Khan port and the Badghis province. Syed Ibrahim, spokesman for Burhanuddin Rabbani, claimed that the rebels have also taken control of Imam Sahib city, near the Tajikistan border. The city of Jalalabad fell, and after capturing the airport near Kandahar, began positioning troops in that direction.

Eighty former Pashtun commanders, veterans of the war against the Soviet Union, met in Peshawar to assess developments and organize a military strategy, said Mohammad Zaman, one of the exile leaders. Zaki Ahmed, an aide to Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, who captured Mazar-e Sharif on Friday, is assuring Pashtuns that the Northern Alliance will not try to govern the country alone. Except for isolated pockets of resistance, all of northern Afghanistan is now under alliance control.

Taliban Response

Taliban fighters reportedly deserted Kabul at dawn, despite pronouncements by Zaeef that they would defend it. Rather than engaging the advancing opposition, they apparently headed south toward the stronghold of Taliban rule. Kandahar is the Taliban's nerve center, and the mountainous terrain of the southern region is home to the Pashtun ethnic group that comprises most of the Taliban.

According to Pakistani news sources, the Taliban confirmed retreat of their troops from Samnagan Sarpul Saiful and Jauzjan, as well as the fall of seven provinces. Forced to retreat because of severe bombardment, they admitted that seven northern provinces, Balkh, Jawzjan, Takhar, Samangan, Bamyan, Badghis, and Faryab, were released from Taliban control in an "organized way", said the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef. The withdrawal of troops from those three fallen provinces, they claim, is a strategic move meant to allow aggregation of troops for a counteroffensive.

As foreign fighters respond to the Taliban's call to arms, Ustad Manghal Hussain, the second-in-command to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, former elite mujahidin commander, has been negotiating with the Taliban to add his Hezb-I-Islami group to the Taliban's war against America.

Many key leaders are disappearing in unclear circumstances, and the propaganda machine has been relatively quiet. The governor of the Jalabad province, Maulvi Abdul Kabeer, has not been seen for the past 24 hours. Kabeer is a close associate of Mullah Mohammad Omar. Also, Mukhitdin Mekhti, a senior representative for the opposition, said Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has fled Afghanistan for Pakistan.
 

Nov. 10-12, 2001

Opposition fighters celebrated the decisive capture of Mazar-e Sharif. After the three-pronged offensive into the city, the rebels have access to a large airport and a direct supply route from nearby Uzbekistan, where the United States has been building up a military presence. The supply route will also be used by humanitarian organizations, who have been preparing shipments with hopes that they will be able to ship through this corridor. The Mazar-Kabul road, on which Gen. Abdul Basir controls the now-blocked Salang tunnel, will most likely be usable for vehicles in a little more than a week, after which resupply shipments will also be able to reach fighters on the Kabul front. With these latest advances, opposition fighters have effectively cut the country into two areas of control, and bombing and ethnic dissention in the south may further complicate the Taliban's position.

Gen. Dostum's forces went on from Mazar to capture the towns of Tashkurgan, Hairatan, and Kunduz. On Nov. 11, they reported capture of the town of Pul-e-Khumri, along a main road to Kabul, and the central province of Bamiyan, including the city of Bamiyan (although the areas may not yet be secure). The main east-west road from Herat to Kabul runs through this province. Forces commanded by Dostum earlier pushed the Taliban out of Kishindi during a 16-hour assault that left 200 Taliban dead en route to Mazar, and are now chasing retreating Taliban forces east toward Baghlan and west near the town of Meymaneh. Ismail Khan reported the capture of the capital of the Badghis province, Qaleh-ye Now, 280 miles southest of Mazar. Khan said he was pushing toward Herat.

The day's biggest victory was capture of Taloqan, a battle that started in the capital of the Takhar province (until 2000 an opposition stronghold) on Nov. 10. During this long battle, the Northern Alliance reportedly seized seven tanks and more than 40 other vehicles, mainly equipped with multiple rocket launchers.

Also on Nov. 11, opposition closed in from three sides on a large concentration of Taliban troops in the north, threatening to cut the last major Taliban contingent off from its supply lines. Taliban fighters hemmed in around Kunduz include foreign fighters, Arabs and Pakistanis, who are expected to put up fierce resistance.

Mazar-e Sharif has now been invaded by three competing rebel factions, and their tenuous cohesion is extremely important in order to utilize the victory's strategic potential. Leaders are working to maintain order within the city, their own forces, and among competing factions; and to minimize the incidences of looting and reprisal killings. Northern Alliance troops apparently executed 100 Taliban hiding in an area school. However, the opposition did announce amnesty for previous Taliban supporters who decide to switch their loyalty to the opposition.

Six ethnic Pashtun commanders of Taliban units in the eastern part of the country met with exile leaders in the western Pakistani city of Peshawar, offering to switch sides. Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group, are needed by the Northern Alliance if it hopes to set up a legitimate transition government. This latest development comes as the war in the northern part of the country is virtually decided, but the fighting in the southern half has only just begun. A breakdown by alliance fighters into reprisals or ethnically-directed violence could alienate Pashtuns and other minorities, complicating a transition to any kind of stable rule.

Taliban Response

On Nov. 9, bin Laden was granted Afghan nationality. Chief of Islamic Jihad, Aimen Al- Zahawri, Islamic Jihad leader Sheikh Asim Abdul Rehman, Operational al Qaeda Commander Saif-ul-Adil Abu Hafz, and Deputy Operational Commander Muhammad Atef were also given the honor. Bin Laden is now considered no longer a guest, but a citizen. He also claimed to have nuclear and chemical weapons to use as a deterrent.

Taliban soldiers began burning houses as they retreated, maybe even barricading people inside their dwellings. However, a Taliban spokesman acknowledged the loss of three provinces, but said that the retreat was strategic and that the abandoned cities had been left with a plan.

 
Nov. 9, 2001

Opposition forces entered Mazar-e Sharif in heavy fighting, claiming to have captured the key northern city. Three opposition factions have been advancing on the city, supported by heavy bombing. Spokesman Ashraf Nadeem said opposition forces had broken through Taliban lines Friday at the Pul-e-Imam Bukhri bridge on the southern edge of the city, overrun the airport, and entered the city (Associated Press). "We are moving through one neighborhood at a time," Nadeem said. "We are warning our commanders against revenge." A senior Northern Alliance commander, Atta Mohammed, announced an amnesty for anyone in the city who formerly supported the Taliban. Radhid Dostum, the Uzbek warlord who controlled the city until it was captured by the Taliban three years ago, told Turkey's CNN-Turk television that the alliance overran the city in half an hour. Speaking from a hill overlooking the city, Dostum claimed Northern Alliance forces killed 500 Taliban fighters , took hundreds of others prisoner during the past four days of fighting, and announced amnesty for anyone who formerly supported the Taliban. The alliance is counting on wholesale defections among Taliban forces in and around Mazar and an uprising by the city's residents to avoid bloody house-to-house fighting. Control of Mazar is crucial for an orchestrated push toward Kabul.

A military airport west of Mazar was also captured. An ethnic Hazara commander, Haji Mohammad Muhaqiq, speaking with the Times of India via satellite phone, said that the Dehdadi airport was in alliance hands, along with the 18th Taliban division.

Alliance fighters, backed by tanks, massed at the front line just north of Kabul. About 800 Northern Alliance fighters were accompanied by four tanks, forty artillery pieces, and aerial bombardment.

Taliban Response

Confirming that opposition troops entered southern parts of Mazar after heavy American bombing, Taliban fighters reportedly fled the city to reinforce the front lines at Kabul with personnel, tanks, and vehicles. The 7th batch of the Tehrik Nifaz-I-Shariati Muhammadi entered Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. It was reported that around 15,000 fighters with 75 vehicles crossed into the country to bolster the Taliban.

It is reported that the assassination of Abdul Haq was most likely a ploy by the governor of the Nangrahar province, deputy chairman of the Taliban council of ministers, Maulvi Kabir Ahmed.

Foreign minister Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef has announced that Taliban press conferences will resume, but in Afghanistan instead of Islamabad.

 
Nov. 7-8, 001

The Northern Alliance claim to have seized and taken control of the Shol Ghar district en route to Mazar-e Sharif. The rebels reported the surrender of 500 Taliban and the capture of another 250. Forces under the command of Ismael Khan, a senior commander of the Islamic United Front forces, reached a position 20 kilometers from the western city of Herat, said Nasir Ahmad Alavi (IRNA). The advance came after seven senior Taliban commanders allegedly defected, bringing with them weapons, ammunition, and the 100 fighters under their command.

Opposition commanders said they would capitalize on advances in the northern Balkh province (bordering Uzbekistan) to attack Mazar on Nov. 8. "Our troops are positioned eight kilometers from Mazar-e Sharif airport to the southeast and 50 kilometers to the southwest," said alliance spokesman Ashraf Nadeem (Reuters). Gen. Dostum, mujahidin veteran Ustad Attah, and other commanders met Wednesday night, reportedly deciding to launch the offensive from these positions southeast and southwest of the city. Of the airstrikes, alliance commander Asil Khan said that the United States has hit the right places, including Arab and Pakistani fighters from the al Qaeda network in positions at the front. Qari Qudratullah, a spokesman for alliance commander Atta Mohammed, said the fighters were fortifying their positions before the major assault. "God willing we will soon enter Mazar-e Sharif," he said Nov. 7. "Very soon you will hear the good news that we have liberated it."

Since Mazar-e Sharif has a large Shi'ite Muslim population, the Alliance's key Shi'ite commander, Mohammed Mohaqik, said he wanted the assault on Mazar to be carried in a way that would minimize civilian casualties. The majority of the city is ethnic Tajik.

Readying themselves for an assault on Kabul, the Northern Alliance continues to train police cadets to maintain order in the city after it is captured. When the city was seized in 1992, violence, looting, and chaos ensued — the 2,000-strong police force is tasked with defending the people of Kabul should the city government suddenly change hands.

Taliban Response

The Taliban's single diplomatic envoy, Ambassador to Paksitan Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was called in by the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad and told to curb his remarks. Zaeef was instructed not to attack other countries during his regular news conferences. He can still talk about losses, casualties, and the humanitarian plight of his country, although press conferences were not held on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. Pakistan also asked the Taliban to close its consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, reported the Afghan Islamic Press.

On Nov. 8, Taliban officials acknowledged setbacks south of Mazar, but say the opposition's gains are exaggerated. Bakhtar News Agency, a Taliban-controlled media outlet, reported that bombs around Kabul, Jalalabad, and Herat killed at least 23 people and injured many more on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

 
Nov. 4-6, 2001

The opposition announced the choosing of 60 candidates to a Council of National Unity called by ex-King Zahir Shah. At least some members of the opposition hope that a council of this sort can determine the direction of an Afghan government, or lead the country itself, if the Taliban is toppled. Said Hussein Anwari, a representative of the minority Hazaras, said the nominations included representatives from all the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan (Times of India). Zahir Shah has called for a 120-member council, the first step toward holding a loya jirga, a grand council of tribal leaders. A final list of the participants is reportedly forthcoming, although a spokesman hinted at a proposed makeup of 15 Pashtun, 15 Uzbeks and Shia Hazaras, and 30 Tajiks and other groups. The list was compiled by Interior Minister Mohammad Yunus Qanuni; Pashtun representative Haji Qadeer, brother of Abdul Haq; and Anwari, although selection took much longer than expected, media reports say. There is widespread skepticism regarding the return of Zahir Shah; division of power questions also pose problems for the alliance and any transitional government in which it decides to participate.

On Nov. 6, the Northern Alliance reportedly captured three districts near the strategic city of Mazar-e Sharif. American military advisors were extensively involved in planning the assaults. Northern Alliance forces captured the districts of Zari, Aq Kupak, and Keshendeh during an overnight battle, said Gen. Ostad Atta Muhammad's aide, Qudratullah Hurmat (New York Times). Heavy fighting allegedly resulted in 200-300 dead Taliban fighters; around 300 surrendered. Taliban northern commander Mullah Qair was captured. The three-pronged attack was launched "…while the Americans were bombing," Ashraf Nadeem commented. "It was not only us who killed. It was mostly the Americans" (AP). He said the alliance also captured 10 artillery pieces.

The United States has started supplying the opposition forces on the ground with small arms and RPG's, ammunition, food, water, blankets, and even food for the horses that carry many of the soldiers. Increasing involvement of Special Forces personnel on the ground (reportedly rotating to the front lines from a base at Dara-i-Suf) generated a sustained aerial bombardment that was immediately followed by the ground attack, in which the alliance reports killing more than 20 Taliban soldiers and taking 80 prisoners. Meanwhile, B-52s struck Taliban positions along a ridge near the village of Kalakata, attempting to degrade targets struck earlier in the week without complete success. The short-term objective of these strikes is the opening of a corridor so alliance troops could move forward to Hazarbagh, about five miles west of the current front line.

Taliban Response

The Taliban militia sent hundreds of fighters to reinforce the north of the country to prevent more Northern Alliance advances. "Trucks and cars loaded with Taliban men are heading to the north day and night for this purpose," reported Reuters. Another batch of 1,200 Pakistani tribesman crossed the border into Afghanistan to join the Taliban (Nov. 4), bringing the total number of volunteers to 4,400.

Leaders of the ruling militia have sanctioned suicide squads to seek and destroy U.S. and Northern Alliance targets, indicating a ratcheting up of their resistance to ground assaults. Teams of fighters have allegedly been given permission to strap explosives to their bodies and vehicles in an effort to inflict maximum casualties. Arab and Pakistani fighters have, in recent weeks, reportedly taken on a larger role in organizing Taliban resistance, overruling more moderate elements. Sardar Ahmedia, a spokesman for the Northern Alliance in New Delhi, claimed Mullah Omar mobilized fidayeen, the name of the suicide attackers, in a meeting in Kandahar last week. "They work against India [in Kashmir] and they will work against the Americans," says a fighter named Mohammad Gul, who trains volunteers. "We have redirected our members from Kashmir to Afghanistan." Trucks, tanks, and other vehicles loaded with explosives could also be driven at opposition forces trying to retake Mazar, Gul said. The fidayeen will also carry out kamikaze-style suicide attacks using gliders or improvised machine-propelled vehicles, with which they will crash themselves into low-flying helicopters, aircraft, or SF teams. Fiyadeen mainly carry small Russian-made AK-83 commando sub-machine guns or German-made HK MP5s, both with folding butts. They wear black, navy blue, and olive green bands inscribed with verses from the Holy Koran on their chests.

 
Nov. 3, 2001

The Northern Alliance is reportedly gearing up for a major offensive southward toward Kabul, despite their dubious logistics and supply support. The United States shows signs of ratcheting up the intensity of the air campaign to provide support and cover for the possible push, and rebel troops have been readying tanks and other equipment, test-firing mobile artillery pieces, outfitting troops, and planning maneuvers and training exercises (Washington Post Foreign Service). A meeting of the alliance leadership council discussed plans for both the military maneuver and maintenance of order in a city that is captured. Wahidullah Sabawoon, finance chief of the alliance, says that the Taliban has lost air support and has little remaining artillery power. Their manpower, he says, remains a largely undetermined factor, but still more numerous than the opposition. He did express reservation that plans were moving ahead even though the troops remain unprepared for a switch to the offensive from the years-long defensive posture. A lack of personal exchanges between high-level U.S. officials and alliance leadership was also one of the concerns he cited, but he also said that the offensive must go ahead because of the imminent crippling winter. Gen. Babajan, the commander of the troops arrayed north of Kabul, said that he is still worried that the Taliban is being reinforced by Pakistan. Shipments of ammunition and other supplies are reportedly entering Afghanistan through a porous border during the night, and it is unclear whether or not — despite Pakistan's official support for the U.S. efforts — they are officially sanctioned.

Taliban Response

Heavy bombing moves Taliban fighters as close as possible to the alliance front lines, capitalizing upon the fear of causing casualties within the anti-Taliban militia. Even the Northern Alliance says that the balance, tilted by the shipments of supplies and ammunition entering from Pakistan, seems to favor their opponents.

 
Nov. 2, 2001

Abdullan Abudllah stated that effective, intense bombing of the front lines would mean that it would only be a "matter of days" to break through and take Kabul. Speaking to reporters in the village of Jabal Saraj in northern Afghanistan, Abdullah said this applies to any front line between the Taliban and the alliance, especially given the air strikes which he reported had destroyed at least 15 Taliban tanks on Nov. 3 alone. An advance on Kabul, says Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf, a senior member of the alliance's leadership council, could be launched before a renewed assault on Mazar-e Sharif. Northern Alliance strategy should be to strike the center of gravity first. Within a week after the alliance takes Kabul, a schedule for a transitional government will be made, he also stated.

Mohammad Mustafa, commander of an artillery battalion, said that Taliban fighters and their allies man three lines of defense, each containing about 3,000 fighters. Other estimates put front-line troop strength at between 6,000 to 8,000 fighters. Questions remain as to whether the Northern Alliance can effectively confront these entrenched, experienced warriors. "I would not say we have everything that is required. It is not possible to get whatever we need at this time, because of the weather and logistics," the Washington Post quoted him as saying. Abdullah said that alliance fighters, used to battling against the odds, will not be kept from launching an offensive because of logistical problems. There has been little activity in recent says on the front south of Mazar-e Sharif, but considerable damage has been done to Taliban positions in Kunduz, where an air base and ammunition depot were hit. Abdullah claims this forced the evacuation of other Taliban ammunition stocks.

Atiqullah Baryalai, a senior Northern Alliance official, complained that the bombing campaign appeared increasingly misguided and ineffectual. He said the B-52's were too slow and heavy to hit the zigzag position of Taliban positions and were unable to fire into the sloped hillsides and cave networks.

Meanwhile, a prominent Afghan tribal leader has begun the first known armed uprising against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan since the campaign began. Hamid Karzai claims to control part of a southern province after his forces captured 12 Taliban soldiers after a Taliban attack on a meeting of tribal elders he convened in Uruzgan province. He returned to Afghanistan in October to promote a national gathering aimed at determining post-Taliban governmental structure. A Pashtun insurgency in the south, such as this one, could generate momentum for a Northern Alliance push toward the strategically important cities farther north. Karzai told BBC that his forces had been attacked by the Taliban and had fought them off. Another Pashtun tribal leader, Mahalem Abdul Ghader, reported that Karzai's group had withdrawn to the mountains with supporters and local people to start an armed rebellion.

A commander fighting with the Taliban reportedly defected, bringing with him 1,350 fighters and control of several towns in northern Afghanistan. The defector, Hasham Khan, said that some villagers are turning against the Taliban, capturing or killing them, although the assertion could not be verified. Another commander of the rebel forces said their fighters captured 200 Taliban soldiers and that 800 local residents had joined the alliance following a four-hour fight on Friday in the village of Aq Kopruk. Territorial gains appeared minimal. Kurdratulla Umar, an officer with the forces of Attah Mohammed, whose line extends to within five miles of the key northern city, said that the Taliban counterattacked five times, each time being repulsed.

Taliban Response

The Taliban reported a battle with Karzai's forces. Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, reported that Karzai was being chased in the mountains and that some of his group had been killed or wounded. Zaeef also told the Afghan Islamic Press that four U.S. helicopters came to Karzai's aid during the battle, a report that was disputed by Karzai's brother, Qayum, who indicated there was no American support.

 
Nov. 1, 2001

The alliance's foreign minister, Abdullan Abdullah, disputed reports that there was a significant attempt on the city of Mazar-e Sharif, saying that there were no significant activities in the past "three or four days" along that front. The front lines north of Kabul were mostly silent today, even as a reported 160 Taliban soldiers were killed by air strikes along the northern front.

Agreeing with front-line commanders, Abdullah said that a few more days of heavy air strikes on Taliban positions north of Kabul would be enough to open the way for a Northern Alliance offensive to surround the city. He reported that Northern Alliance troops are at highest readiness and that the Kabul front is being reinforced with thousands of volunteers.

Asil Khan, a commander of 500 soldiers in the town, says that now the best targets are Taliban trenches near the fronts, where soldiers are grouping to avoid being at big bases such as those recently hit, like Totakhan.

Taliban Response

The Taliban claimed today that the Northern Alliance failed to advance on Mazar, despite coordinated air support from U.S. warplanes. The Taliban said that the alliance forces launched a three-way ground attack but had been forced to retreat, leaving their dead on the battlefield. Officials said that air strikes hit a medical dispensary belonging to the Red Crescent and a neighboring house. Crews of foreign media were escorted to the site.

Bin Laden has reportedly urged Pakistani Muslims to defend Islam, calling them to "stand in the face" of U.S. attacks by rising up against a government that has lent its support to Operation Enduring Freedom. On the orders of Supreme Commander Mulla Omar, the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan, Zaeef, on Oct. 31 refused to meet the Lakhdar Brahimi, UN special envoy, although there are conflicting reports that the United Nations would not talk with Zaeef.

 
Oct. 30-31, 2001

Intensified U.S. bombing generated positive responses from alliance fighters. An officer who waits with his forces about nine miles outside Mazar said, "This went very well. We liked this very much." The stepped-up campaign follows weeks of complaints from Northern Alliance officials. According to senior opposition officials, the alliance's defense chief, Gen. Mohammed Fahim, met Oct. 30 with U.S. Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander of U.S. operations in Afghanistan. Meeting in Dushanbe, they reportedly discussed closer coordination between U.S. and rebel forces.

Haron Amin, a spokesman for the Northern Alliance in Washington, said the U.S. military has told forces with the rebel coalition that it is time for them to attack Mazar-e Sharif, noting that "[t]o operate out of Mazar would help a lot of things to go forward." (Washington Post)

It was also reported that Abdullah and Interior Minister Muhammad Yunas Qanooni of the Rabbani government have developed serious differences that may impede the formation of a relatively stable transitional government. Sources indicate that the two ministers are blaming each other for the postponement of a meeting in Turkey that would have brought together the Northern Alliance and representatives of exiled King Zahir Shah, and considered convening the loya jirga, the Grand Afghan Assembly. Qanooni was slated to represent the alliance at the meeting, but was accused of taking positions that are contrary to the stands of the Northern Alliance. Reported in Sahaar, a Peshawar-based publication available in both Pashto and Dari, it was also claimed that Abdullah said that the Rabbani government is the legitimate authority in Afghanistan and that the formation of an interim government under the former king would confront Afghans and the international community with renewed problems — either way, an inauspicious indication of the difficulties that will plague formation of a new government.

Taliban Response

Zaeef claimed that a total of 1,500 people have been killed so far in the assault on Afghanistan. Zaeef also said that the efforts to help the opposition capture Mazar-e Sharif demonstrate that the campaign is not intended to fight terrorism; rather, it is to establish a puppet government and wipe out Islamic identity.

Several tribal elders from Afghanistan's Kunar and Nangarhar provinces were arrested by the Taliban after being accused of having sympathies for former monarch Zahir Shah. U.S.-sponsored efforts aimed at recruiting anti-Taliban ethnic and tribal leaders may have spurred the arrests. Authorities at Kabul have also stepped up monitoring, especially in the northeast, into the activities of tribal leaders following the capture and execution of Abdul Haq.

 
Oct. 29, 2001

While Afghan opposition said they were plotting their major push on a vital Taliban northern stronghold, the Pentagon announced the extension of bombing toward the Afghan border with Tajikistan, where Taliban troops are holding back Alliance fighters from the city of Mazar-e Sharif — indicating that the United States was willing to support such an offensive. Following the two days of meetings in Dara-e Suf, in northern Samangan province, Mohammad Habeel said that the opposition may have mapped out a common strategy to launch what could be a multi-pronged offensive. As talk circulated over a possible move toward the western city of Herat, the rebel forces complained that Taliban forces there have gotten stronger and cannot be defeated before the onset of winter without a major, concerted American bombing campaign. Sayed Nasiir Ahmed, an officer with the Northern Alliance forces in northwest Afghanistan, said, "The number of Talibans has actually increased since the American bombings. They have become more powerful." This echoes statements made by fighters along other fronts, especially those around Mazar and Kabul. Ahmed, an aide to Gen. Ismael Khan, said that the advance on Herat cannot happen without more powerful bombing and fresh supplies. "What we need is only bullets for our machine guns. If we had weapons, we could succeed," he said. Despite the handicap, Ahmed reported that Khan's forces are still trying to gain ground, fighting in a line from the town of Qal'eh-ye Now, about 60 miles northeast of Herat, to Karokh, just a few miles outside of Herat.

Taliban Response

Taliban Amb. Adbul Salam Zaeef said that the first phase of the U.S.-led campaign "had achieved no significant achievement that the Pentagon wished to achieve, except the genocide of Afghanistan people" (Associated Press). Meanwhile, it was reported that the Taliban reinforced defenses in the Balkh and Samangan provinces with 2,000 additional fighters. Mullah Mohammed Omar, supreme leader of the Taliban, warned that the United States will learn a "tougher lesson" than Soviet soldiers did, and that once U.S. troops are on the ground, the Americans will lose their technological edge.

 
Oct. 27-28, 2001

The Northern Alliance reported that bombs from U.S. air strikes fell in a desert zone known as Kalaqata in the northeastern Afghanistan-Tajikistan border zone, where there is a Taliban military position. The alliance's T-55 tanks have been positioned high on Ai Khanun hill, close to the junction of the Amou and Kokhcha rivers, since Oct. 28, where they have been regularly firing 100mm shells at Taliban positions about two kilometers away. Fire halted when U.S. planes began bombing.

Key opposition commanders assembled for a five-hour session to plan an attack on Mazar-e Sharif. Spokesman Ashraf Nadeem said that commanders and leaders, who included Uzbek leader Rashid Dostum, Shiite Muslim leader Mohammed (Ustad) Mohaqik, and (Ustad) Atta Mohammed, former commander of the deposed Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani's forces, also talked of joint offensives on the surrounding provinces of Balkh and Samangan. Meanwhile, the United States extended its targeting range to the Afghan-Tajikistan border area, where the Northern Alliance said two bombs were dropped but missed Taliban positions, falling into an area separating the fronts. They also said the bombs were small and had limited impact when they landed in the Qalaqatar district. Faiz Mohamed, deputy commander of forces in the city of Dasht-e Qalat, speculated that the bombs were meant to test Taliban positions or perhaps push the troops back from the border. He said he believed that more American bombs were on the way.

Abdul Haq, the murdered opposition leader captured and executed by the Taliban Oct. 27, was buried in Afgnanistan. His wife and son, killed in 1999 by what is thought to be the Taliban, are buried in Peshawar in Pakistan, but Haq's body was not transferred for burial. Meanwhile, Ismael Khan's forces may have captured three Taliban commanders, and there were reports that an air raid struck a convoy as it moved from Mazar-e Sharif to a village in the Zahreh district, killing 400 Talibans.

Taliban Response

Thousands of armed Pakistani tribesmen tried again to cross into Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban, but Pakistani authorities have refused to let them pass. They may instead try to slip across the porous border in small groups, heeding the recruiting call by local Islamic militants. Potential funerals for any of these 9,000 fighters, armed with assault rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, axes, and swords, might be a rallying point for Taliban supporters, and thus the influx is dangerous for many reasons. Some of the tribesmen crossed from the Dir area in the Northwest Frontier, heading toward Kunar, near Jalalabad, carrying weapons, supplies, and camping gear.

The Taliban stated that the time is not yet right for Muslims of other countries to come to support them. This came partially in response to the attempted border crossing. Sufi Mohammed, a Muslim cleric who heads Tehreek Nifaz-e Sharia Mohammadi, a group which supports the state imposition of Islamic Sharia law, called Muslims to arms and led many of them across the border in Bajor Agency. Although the Taliban has many trained mujahidin from other countries, they are reluctant to have untrained foreign fighters join them.

In Pakistan, pro-Taliban armed militias who blocked a key northwest Pakistan highway for four days also seized an airstrip and gas stations in the town of Chilas, near the northeast border with Afghanistan (CNN.com). Taliban forces also battled with the Northern Alliance a few kilometers from the border with Tajikistan. Based about 250km south of the capital, Dushanbe, Russian guards said that they heard a dozen explosions and the noise of jet engines in the Afghan province of Taliban-controlled province of Kunduz. The Taliban also claimed to have beaten back another opposition push for Mazar (Oct. 27).

 
Oct. 25-26, 2001

Competition among leaders and factions in the Northern Alliance, coupled with the U.S. and coalition's uncertainty as to how to proceed without at least a basic framework for governing a post-Taliban Afghanistan, have seemed to negate the potential military gains on the ground that might have been possible after U.S. air strikes. Negotiations centered around the formation of a government after a successful Kabul offensive continue to become more and more complicated (a springtime offensive, rather than an immediate one, is even part of one scenario). Abdullah, a top official, indicated that the opposition has reached a political consensus for an advance on Kabul, but no consensus has been reached on when to move. However, the Northern Alliance forces that would participate in any offensive on Kabul remain bottled up in the Panjshir Valley, where they are cut off from resupply — crucial, they say, for a successful push to the capital. Troops in the north have been trying to free the supply routes by capturing Mazar-e Sharif, but that offensive also remains stalled — another Northern Alliance leader admitted that tactical blunders and a too-heavy reliance on U.S. air strikes led to a missed opportunity to capture it. However, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum said that despite heavy fighting his forces have taken the town of Keshendeh, 40 miles south of Mazar, and will move northwest from there in an attempt to surround that city. "If we take over the area surrounding Mazar-e Sharif, the city itself will be easier to take," he said. Anti -Taliban leaders in the south, where the population is 40 percent Pashtun, are having considerable problems recruiting fighters — the potential rebels regard them as U.S. puppets who are not even getting very much from their patron. The Northern Alliance continues to be openly critical of U.S. strategy. "If they continue like this, it will be a long, terrible war," Gen. Baba Jan told The Washington Post. "If the Americans want to do something here, they need to bomb in a way that shows they are a great power." Northern Alliance Foreign Minister, Abdullan Abdullah, said in a press conference that the insufficient air strikes were not enough to scare or demoralize the Taliban into running away. Haron Amin, spokesman for the Northern Alliance in Washington, said that some of the target selections, coupled with limited assistance to the opposition fighters, have served only to prolong the campaign. "…We expected that the enemy positions would be razed," Masjedi Khan, a commander said. "I expected them to be upside down." Abdullah returned to the Panjshir Valley from Khodja Bahauddin after a trip to Iran and Tajikstan. He and Burhanuddin Rabbani held a lengthy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, during which Putin pledged continued support "in all aspects". Humanitarian aid was one of the principle contributions Putin offered — three years of drought may make this winter particularly hard for both civilians and rebels; however, for troops continually short on supplies, this will be a formidable obstacle in waging an effective military campaign. "I don't think we will be finished with this fight before winter," said Mohammed Hasham Saad, the top Northern Alliance representative in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Opposition leader Adbul Haq was executed by Taliban forces. Haq had crossed into Afghanistan to try to persuade Afghan tribal leaders to abandon the Taliban and throw their support behind exiled former Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah.

Taliban Response

Amid reports that there have been very few significant defections from their force, the Taliban used American bombing mistakes to attempt to further leverage propaganda gains. A spokesman accused the United States of intentionally bombing civilians and using chemical weapons; he also said that a bomb struck a bus on the outskirts of Kandahar, killing at least 10 civilians. Twenty people were killed in the village of Ishaq Sulaiman after they emerged from a mosque, Taliban officials told Reuters. There have also been no successes in the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan where operatives have been trying to foment dissent within the Taliban's ranks and encourage uprising by other anti-Taliban tribal leaders; local divisions among the ruling party have been blatantly absent. The Taliban continues to dig deep trenches and survive bombings — ancient irrigation channels and tunnels and naturally occurring cave complexes hide men, supplies, and weapons. They are also reportedly camouflaging vehicles by plastering them with mud, thus making them fairly indiscernible. Resupply is, despite efforts to disrupt it, continuing. The Pakistani trucking mafia, ardent Taliban supporters, still run their normal routes and are supplying fuel from Baluchistan and ammunition from the Northwest Frontier Province to the Taliban. Little effort is apparently made to enforce the border closing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and trade with Iran is still flourishing — aided by a drop in prices.

Officers have told their soldiers to prepare for an invasion by American troops and to expect help from thousands of reinforcements from Pakistan. A Taliban member in Jalalabad said, "They are drafting all the men from the villages around and giving them Kalashnikovs. They said to get ready to resist the American infantry." Severe penalties exist in some cities, such as Herat, for talking against the Taliban.

The Taliban invited the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's main Muslim organization, to send a team to Afghanistan to view the destruction caused by U.S. raids.

 
Oct. 24, 2001

The Northern Alliance is receiving equipment from Russia. Arms shipments to the rebels are underway and will consist of tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers crucial to a successful offensive. Forty T-55 tanks, 80 BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and several dozen BTR-60 armored personnel carriers are expected by the end of the month; a Russian government defense source told Interfax news agency that the Northern Alliance will also receive Grad 122mm multiple rocket launchers and ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. Borhanoddin Rabbani said today that his troops were fighting the Taliban on several fronts and were expected to mount an attack before the beginning of Ramadan, which begins in mid-November. Officials say that U.S. bombing is becoming more effective but that it is still insufficient, even though since Oct. 21 bombs have been dropped on front-line positions; Northern Alliance officials tend to blame repulsed advances, such as the one south of Mazar by a warlord aligned with them, on forces that are still undispersed and entrenched. An opposition spokesman, Waisuddin Salik, said that U.S. jets struck at Uzbashi, an al Qaeda stronghold near Bagram (International Herald Tribune).

The Northern Alliance reports that the Taliban's progressive weakening has allowed the alliance to begin building another airstrip, this one on the Kapisa front, without fear of Taliban shelling. The airstrip is intended mainly as a landing site for helicopters but may eventually accommodate fixed-wing cargo planes, needed for supply given the difficulty of overland transport of materiel and supplies. Mohamad Mustafa, alliance commander, stated for the Christian Science Monitor that the front line had even shifted backward a degree, because Northern Alliance troops had been pulled back so an American bomb - such as the one that landed behind rebel front lines yesterday - would not be a danger.

Discord among those who might shape the post-Taliban government is constraining the military agenda of the U.S. and the Northern Alliance. The composition and nature of a transitional government is debated among the coalition, the United Nations, Pakistan, and other Arab nations

Taliban Response

The Pentagon warns that the Taliban is planning on poisoning American-dropped food rations and blame it on Americans. The Taliban may be hoarding uncollected Humanitarian Daily Rations and may also control World Food Programme food stockpiles. Reuters reported a Taliban statement that they would not hand over Osama bin Laden even if it cost every life in Afghanistan. They are now reportedly arming villages to resist U.S. ground attacks. "Now our decision is to form armed groups in villages and all provinces of Afghanistan to confront the United States and its friends in a possible commando operation," Education Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told Reuters Television in an interview in Kabul (Reuters.com). The disarmament of the general population was a broad-based initiative undertaken by the Taliban during the 1990's, so this rearmament, which will mostly be concentrated in areas of the south and east where the Taliban has the most popular support, is a serious development. The decision, which came after the last meeting of the Taliban council of ministers, could complicate plans for ground action.

 
Oct. 23, 2001

Amid U.S. bombing of Mazar-e Sharif intent on aiding an Alliance offensive, rebel forces reportedly remained too far from the city to capitalize on potential gains made by air strikes. Thus, the Northern Alliance advance has been described as "stalled," largely because the opposition force is still grossly outnumbered and their transport is unreliable and slow. Afghan opposition troops in the area around Mazar are reportedly almost out of ammunition, food, and medical supplies, which would hamper any attempts to convert U.S. strikes into permanent military gains. However, the Northern Alliance and the Taliban engaged in fire exchanges across the Shamali Plain that were described as the heaviest since the onset of American bombing. The fighting consisted of heavy artillery exchanges, tank, rocket, and machine-gun fire and peaked at around midnight. It lasted until around 2 a.m., after which a relatively unsuccessful Taliban infantry advance counterattack was reported at Bagram. Alliance commander, Gen. Jan, said that the Tutekhan Ridge must be targeted soon - gun emplacements there target the main road to Kabul.

Gen. Abdurrashid Dostum said today that he is assisting U.S. bombing efforts by providing targeting information, and that strikes using this coordinated information allowed his troops to rebel a Taliban offensive. Dostum says he makes a daily list of targets; Pentagon accounts do not confirm the specificity or extent of the coordination, having previously stated that the Northern Alliance traditionally has very little experience planning air support. Dostum also reported that he had reached an agreement to work with another Northern Alliance commander, Attah Mohammad - a disagreement among the two may have been one of the impediments to an advance on Mazar.

Taliban Response

The Taliban has focused most of its efforts of late on the propaganda campaign, continuing to cite civilian casualties (and possibly inflate them) and make claims about their defensive capabilities (such as the claim that they shot down at least two American helicopters). Misguided bombs and off-target munitions hitting hospitals (or senior citizens homes), cluster bombs, and pictures of dead villagers have been expedient to this end.

 
Oct. 21-22, 2001

The President of the Northern Alliance, Burhanuddin Rabbani, has been conducting a series of meetings with local warlords and military leaders in an effort to create a coalition government should the Taliban fall. Constraining the situation is Pakistan's desire to have moderate members of the Taliban involved, an idea met with vehement resistance. The coming holy period of Ramadan and the onset of a harsh winter further compress the decision-making and strategy considerations of the Northern Alliance and the coalition. American officials stated that alliance commanders would be responsible for controlling the ground offensive themselves. Although they are pledged support from American planes bombing the pivotal front line positions, they are to date denied close air support for their offensive. Troop shortages and long re-supply lines must also be overcome. Alliance forces are still working on the construction of a dirt landing strip in the town of Golbahar, 20 miles north of the front line. Four Soviet-made Antonov transport planes, owned by the Northern Alliance, can land at the airstrip, which is nearing completion; C-130 planes would also be able to land there. The legacy of Massood, in the form of special assault units, may also be decisive, as they are the best-trained troops in a patchwork force.

Taliban Response

Taliban front lines are now receiving heavy fire around Mazar-e Sharif and Kabul. At least 2,000 Arab and Pakistani volunteers, including bin Laden followers, lie in a maze of trenches, bunkers, and minefields with 5,000 Taliban soldiers. The area, known as the Shamali Plain, is where Taliban soldiers are digging in to confront opposition forces.

 
Oct. 20, 2001

It has now been officially confirmed by the U.S. Defense Department that the Northern Alliance has received food, ammunition, supplies, and even money from Washington. Direct, concerted military cooperation may be increasingly operationalized — evinced by the alliance's seeming awareness that attacks on the Taliban front lines were imminent. Northern Alliance generals warned people at Bagram of the impending attack

In the Northern Alliance itself, troops have made little or no movement even over alliance-held territory. Their front lines north of the capital, aside from skirmishes, have been relatively quiet. A preliminary advance on Mazar-e Sharif has been repelled by Taliban troops.

Taliban Response

The Taliban still holds Kabul and continues to hold off a Northern Alliance advance on the city. A Taliban spokesman claims that the United States has used chemical and biological weapons and has been targeting hospitals.

Taliban officials also reiterated claims that they undermine the U.S. attacks on facilities near Kandahar. Amir Khan Muttaqi stated that U.S. forces were forced to flee in defeat after the midnight attack began. The official Taliban news agency, Bakhtar, said that four U.S. helicopters landed at Kohi Babi, a mountain region northwest of Kandahar, and, finding it empty, withdrew to attack a mountain called Baba Sahib, 20 miles west of Kandahar, where they were met with Taliban fire.

 
Oct. 19, 2001

Commanders speaking from Mahmoud-e Raqi, 30 miles north of Kabul, announced that they were ready to advance on the capital but would wait until agreement on a provisional government has been reached.

Taliban Response

The Taliban claimed to have foiled the raid by U.S. Army Rangers and also to have been responsible for bringing down a helicopter (the United States maintains that the crash actually occurred in Pakistan). Abdul Salam Zaeef, Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, said that initial reports indicated that the helicopter had been hit and damaged inside Afghanistan and crashed on its way back to base. Taliban rulers also said that they have taken some military casualties and suffered 400-900 civilian deaths, but were prepared for a long campaign, in which their chief weapon would be patience. This "real war" begins, according to Zaeef, when U.S. forces enter Afghanistan, although the U.S. reports their presence in-country. Zaeef also denied allegations that there were splits and discord in the regime's leadership and specifically rebutted claims that Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the regime's foreign minister, had either visited Pakistan on a secret peace mission or defected. "There are no moderate Talibans," he said as part of his statement that also suggested that representatives in Islamabad "may possibly" hold talks with Pakistani authorities. He denied, however, hints that he returned from a trip to Kandahar with any new peace or negotiating proposals, yet said the regime was prepared to incorporate other new tactics — the guerrilla warfare that proved successful against the Soviet Union (Financial Times).

As winter settles in, the Taliban may try to exploit the cold weather conditions and natural obstacles to frustrate commando raids. "We are eagerly awaiting the American troops to land on our soil, where we will deal with them in our own way," The Washington Post quoted senior Taliban commander, Jalaluddin Haqqani. The Taliban uses a hide-and-wait strategy, and has spread its equipment and troops out around urban residential areas and the countryside to avoid serving up concentrated military targets.

 
Oct. 17-18

Amid reports of heavy fighting on the ground, the Northern Alliance reported that U.S. jets had begun bombing Taliban lines just north of Kabul and had thus assisted their successful advanced within 5 kilometers of Mazar-e Sharif. Mohammad Hasham Saad, head of the Northern Alliance mission in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was quoted in The Financial Times as saying, "At the moment, from one side our forces are 4 kilometers from Mazar, from another side 5 kilometers." He also said that forces under Rashid Dostum were "cleaning" districts near Mazar and will be in the city in under three days, aided by U.S. strikes that cut off Taliban supply lines into the city and isolated its fighters near the northern border with Uzbekistan. The Northern Alliance also reported that the Taliban had evacuated rural areas around the city but were still inside, explaining claims that they continue to face "strong resistance" from the Taliban there.

The head of the Northern Alliance's international news service explained that the alliance has changed its military strategy since the assassination of charismatic long-time leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Massoud's priority was to join up alliance-controlled pockets in the center of the country and then launch a unified, coordinated effort to reinforce its grip on the northeast. Now, the focus is the isolation of Taliban forces across the north of the country by cutting their main supply route from Herat. There have been consistent reports of disappointment and surprise regarding what is perceived as a failure by the U.S. to coordinate its military actions with those of the alliance.

Taliban Response:

Claims are rampant that the Taliban has been harassing aid workers; the Pentagon admits that there is "credible evidence" that this is the case. The Taliban claimed to have arrested an American or British man inside Afghanistan, who was detained Oct. 13 in the northeastern province of Kunduz. The Taliban's intelligence chief, Qari Ahmadullah, told the Afghan Islamic Press that the man was posing as a mute and not responding to any questions. "We don't know his name. We are trying to extract something from him," The London Times quotes Ahmadullah as saying.

The Northern Alliance reports that the Taliban has continued to augment forces around Mazar and has begun counterattacks, a claim substantiated by reports from Uzbek border guards that Taliban units near the border withdrew earlier this week to reinforce the city. Perhaps to replace these fighters, it is reported that an additional 2,000 troops may be based near Uzbekistan to add to the 8,000 already there. The buildup drew U.S. fire.

The Taliban, condemned by a group of exiled mujahidin commanders, tribal elders, and religious leaders as responsible for the bombing of Afghanistan, is reportedly hiding in mosques to both evade American weapons and encourage targeting of politically sensitive targets. It is widely believed that their claims on civilian casualties may be exaggerated, and they may have been responsible for mass killings in the Bamian province earlier this year. While American press reports the Taliban "eviscerated," they still continue to return fire, launch counterattacks, and espouse anti-American rhetoric, threats, and willingness to fight to the death against the "infidels" to become martyrs. Reports of defections from the Taliban may or may not be credible.

 
Oct. 15, 2001

According to BBC News, there are now three main elements in the Northern Alliance. The ethnic Tajik Jamiat-I-Islami, led by Masood's successor Gen. Mohammed Fahim Khan. In the west central Ghor and Herat provinces, Ismael Khan remains the central figure. The ethnic Uzbek Junbish-I-Milli-yi Islami grouping, led by Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, and the ethnic Hazara shia groupings, led by Karim Khalili and Mohaqiq will all figure prominently in whether or not a provisional or transitional government can be established before an all-out offensive on Kabul. The official head of the alliance, ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani, is the most senior opposition figure and could still play an effective mediating role among the competing Northern Alliance factions.

Taking advantage of massive assaults, an attack on Mazar-e Sharif seems closer as rebels claim to have advanced within miles of the city. A spokesman for the group, Abdul Vadud, said opposition troops were approaching the city from the northeast and northwest and that some units were as close as four miles away. Atiqullah Baryalai, the alliance's deputy defense minister, said his forces had captured the towns of Marmol and Sheridian, located on the southern fringes of Mazar-e Sharif. The alliance, whose helicopter fleet is small, fears that they are still too vulnerable to Taliban anti-aircraft guns to continue the needed re-supply of its troops, aims to take the north part of the city first. As reported by the New York Times, Baryalai said that the alliance was striking at the Taliban in an arc-shaped pattern that stretches across the northern rim of the country from Herat to Taliqan — not just concentrating on Kabul and the northeast. He also stated that gains were made in the region of Pul and in Samangan Province. Ismail Khan may have captured the town of Farsi in Herat Province; he may also be close to Shindand, site of a large military air base.

Taliban Response:

The Taliban may have removed fuel supplies and vehicles from installations in the Khair Khana area. Since it was recently targeted by U.S. strikes, Taliban fighters are avoiding spending the night at their military bases there and instead are over-nighting in nearby mosques.

 
Oct. 13-14, 2001

Gen. Abdul Rashin Dostrum, commander of the predominantly Uzbek militia pushing toward Mazar-e Sharif, claims that 4,000 troops have defected to the Northern Alliance during the past several days, and says that he and his troops are advancing on that city. Because of U.S. bombing, he is reportedly waiting before capturing Mazar. According to Dostrum, defecting Taliban troops are arriving at alliance bases across five provinces, including 140 troops in 36 military vehicles, carrying heavy weapons. He also claimed that the Northern Alliance had taken three northeastern provinces: Jowzjan, Faryab and Sar-i Pol. The capture of Mazar-e Sharif is now said to be the rebels' prime objective, even though there are only about 8,000 alliance fighters in the region — especially given its proximity to Uzbekistan, likely staging ground for U.S. Special Forces efforts. The rebels have been successful in cutting off the Salang Highway, the main supply route between the Taliban garrison in Mazar-e Sharif and Kabul.

Taliban Response

The Taliban still holds Mazar-e Sharif, a pivotal city that may be crucial in determining how the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Alliance/United Front (which includes some rebel leaders from southern Afghanistan) coordinate future ground action. Taliban positions around the city have been receiving fire, in particular a garrison to the north of the city, but the Taliban continues to reinforce its troop strength there — now numbering about 20,000 troops defending the area (London Times).

 
Oct. 11-12, 2001

Northern Alliance officials express frustration with U.S. reluctance to sponsor the rebels' planned three-phase ground offensive without first planning a government or power framework. The Northern Alliance has stated that, without air strikes on the front line, bombing will be in vain, and that there is not much utility in bombing Kabul unless a ground offensive is launched in concert with the attacks. In such an offensive, the rebels would first attempt to drive a wedge through the troops stationed in two lines north of Kabul. Ideally, they would be supported by U.S. air strikes in the effort to seize the strategic high ground of a mountain suburb on the northern side of the city, at which point a composite strike force of Panjshiris (anti-Taliban Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and Hazaras) would penetrate into Kabul and eliminate resistance. Fast and secure control of the city is necessary to prevent the infighting and land grabs that have thwarted other such invasions. Since Taliban fighters would most likely regroup on high ground to the south and east of the city, the third phase is a forward movement to attack by the reserves.

In the West, the alliance reportedly has made significant gains. A faction led by Ismail Khan allegedly captured the central city of Chaghcharan (this was denied by the Taliban). If Chaghcharan, 220 miles west of Kabul, is indeed in Northern Alliance hands, they will control the only direct route from the capital to the western city of Herat. Alliance officials report that they are starting to receive fresh arms shipments (mortars, rocket propelled grenades, and other supplies) purchased from Uzbekistan.

Taliban Response

The Taliban began reinforcing its garrisons across from Bagram. About 20 new tanks and 500 additional soldiers augment the forces stationed at positions above the air base, where rebel and Taliban fighters exchanged artillery, tank, and rocket fire for about two hours in some of the heaviest fighting in recent days. These Taliban troops hold the key to control of Kabul — no assault from the north could be successful if these troops are still entrenched, especially since the Taliban most likely has a 3:1 advantage.

 
Oct. 10, 2001

Northern Alliance rebels have agreed to delay a crucial offensive aimed at taking control of Kabul. The Washington Post reports that the U.S. and Britain will also hold off on major aerial bombardments against Taliban and Arab troops north of Kabul in an effort to forestall the opposition's advance until plans for an interim government can take shape.

Taliban Response

Anti-aircraft artillery fire was reported again over Kabul in spite of U.S. claims to have effectively secured the country's airspace; Taliban officials insisted their air defenses remained in operation. Taliban rulers, claiming minimal damage from U.S. strikes, announced that they have lifted restrictions on Osama bin Laden. Now that the U.S. has begun air strikes on Afghanistan, he is unconstrained in his holy war on America.

 
Oct. 9, 2001

The Northern Alliance claimed to have cut off the Taliban's main north-south supply route and may also have taken control of a route in northeast Afghanistan. The opposition also claims that 40 Taliban commanders and 1,200 Mujehdeen fighters defected.

Taliban Response

Taliban fighters exchanged gunfire with Pakistani border guards in a remote northwestern border area, injuring four of them. The three-hour battle erupted after Pakistani paramilitary Scouts stopped about 30 Taliban fighters who tried to enter the area
(Reuters).

 
Oct. 8, 2001

The Northern Alliance has built its strategy on the premise that the U.S. assault will prompt a popular uprising against the Taliban and massive defections from its ranks, and used radio frequencies that overlap with the Taliban to try to encourage fighters to switch sides. Northern Alliance commanders were put on alert and told to be ready to drive toward Kabul in the event of a Taliban retreat.

Taliban Response

Taliban officials state that thousands of fighters had moved north to the Uzbek-Afghan border.

 
Oct. 7, 2001

Simultaneously with U.S. and British air strikes against some 31 al Qaeda and Taliban targets, artillery fire and rocket launches aimed at Taliban positions came from opposition fighters near the air base at Bagram, 25 miles north of the capital. Key opposition commander Gen. Abdurrashid Dostum may have been aided by coalition strikes at Mazar-e Sharif. Dostum's forces now reportedly surround the city and may be planning a major offensive against Taliban positions. Also, rebel leaders claimed to have taken the city of Samangan in northern Afghanistan. Although there are an estimated 400 rebel fighters in Kabul, the Northern Alliance controls no working base in the vicinity of Kabul to use for supply missions and humanitarian flights from the international community. To this end, construction began on a new landing strip in Golbahar on Oct. 3. Rebel fighters fired on Taliban forces throughout the night.

Reported numbers of Northern Alliance troops vary widely; the Northern Alliance reportedly has eight transport helicopters and three cargo planes in support of a core of 15,000 fighters.

Taliban Response

Taliban antiaircraft batteries attempted to shoot down U.S. and British jets, as well as strike back at Northern Alliance opposition. Taliban forces have been concentrated around Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad, mostly in two lines of defense north of Kabul in trenches and bomb shelters. The fate of Kabul depends on fighting around Bagram, the air base north of the city, which will remain unusable as long as the Taliban continues to hold the hills overlooking it.

	10,000 to 15,000 troops from 5th and 7th Corps are stretched along the front near Taliqan.
	10,000 to 15,000 troops from the Central Corps are on the front north of Kabul.
	500 to 1,000 fighters are specially trained fighters in the Arab brigade, recruited by bin Laden. Some 2,000 to 4,000 fighters who came for training at the camps may be recruited should the Taliban launch a major strike.

Before the Oct. 7 strike, the Taliban reportedly had about 10 SU-22 fighter bombers and 5 MiG-21 fighters of Soviet-era stock used primarily to frighten villagers and empty towns that were the basis of rebel support. Other reported aircraft include some 10 transport helicopters, and 40 cargo planes (before the attacks began).

	SA-3 SAM sites are located at Mazar-e Sharif, Kabul, and Kandahar. Each has a fire control system, radar for target acquisition, and 2-3 launchers with several missiles each.
	The Taliban is believed to have 300-500 anti-aircraft guns.
	Although their principal weapon is artillery, the Taliban has 400-500 T-55 and T-62 tanks.
	It is unclear whether or not the Taliban has Scud missiles.

By Emily Clark

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