Contributions by Amir Abdul Latif, IOL correspondent in Kandahar

KANDAHAR, Oct 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The central office of the United Nations in Kabul was completely destroyed Monday night in a second round of bombing and missile attacks on the capital and other cities, which continued into Tuesday afternoon, a Taliban official confirmed.

Some 81 deaths have so far been reported from Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat. Hundreds have been reported injured and are being treated in general hospitals within the cities.

The official went on to say that 10 critically injured people had been shifted to Peshawar and Quetta.

Four Afghan guards of the U.N. office were also killed in the air strikes, he said. The four were civilian staff members of a demining agency. Four others were injured.

"At 9:00 pm last night [11:30 a.m. EST Monday] in Kabul an office of the NGO Afghan Technical Consultants [ATC] was hit in the bombardment of Kabul. The building was destroyed," U.N. spokeswoman Stephanie Bunker said in neighboring Pakistan.

"ATC was an NGO working under the umbrella of the United Nations Mine Action Program for Afghanistan. Four staff members of ATC were killed.

"All four died on the spot. Pieces of their bodies are still to be recovered from the wreckage," she said, adding that U.N. coordinator for Afghanistan, Mike Sackett, sent his condolences to the families of those killed.

"We have recovered the bodies of four guards under the debris of a double storied building this morning, as the rescue operation was delayed because of power failure in the city due to recent air strikes," the official said.

Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef denounced the wave of attacks unleashed after the Taliban refused to hand over the U.S.'s prime suspect in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Osama bin Laden, without evidence.

"Tens of civilians have been killed in attacks on Afghan cities. This is open terrorism, this is not prosecuting so-called terrorists," Zaeef told a press conference in Islamabad.

Shocked ATC staff, neighbors and Taliban soldiers looked emotional as they picked through the rubble of the office in an eastern part of the city.

The crushed and torn remains of one man could be seen squashed between two concrete slabs.

"This is tyranny. There is no military target here," said an old man. "God curse you America!"

ATC employee Mohammad Shafiq said the group had stopped work after the pullout of foreign deminers and United Nations international staff in the days following the September 11 attacks in the United States.

The ATC group, one of dozens of agencies working to remove the scourge of landmines which litter the country, is in the eastern Yaka Toot area of Kabul, on a main road leading to the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Bunker read out a message from U.N. coordinator Sackett, saying, "Today, the United Nations coordinator for Afghanistan appeals to the international community to protect innocent civilians.

"People need to distinguish between combatants and innocent civilians who do not bear arms."

She said ATC had cleared a major portion of all battlefield areas of their deadly mines, and highlighted the dangerous, dirty job they had to do.

"ATC does manual mine clearing, the men on the ground with bayonets digging up mines."

And she warned that up to 30% of the bombs being dropped currently in Afghanistan could be expected to remain unexploded. "Later these too will have to be removed."

Afghan Defense Ministry officials claimed that U.S. and U.K. fighter planes pounded more than 250 bombs and cruise missiles onto Kabul, Kandahar, Harrat, Jalalabad, Mazar Sharif and Khost, however, none of them hit their targets.

"We have provided hundreds of anti-aircraft guns and 27 stringer missiles to our forces to face coming air strikes," a defense ministry official said, claiming that Taliban forces had so far shot down four U.S. planes.

However, he said he was unable to provide more information on the pilots of these planes.

Moreover, some 6,000 troops were being deployed to Spin Buldok Town, which borders Pakistan, after receiving information that U.S. troops had been seen at the Smungali and Quetta airports - both belonging to Pakistan.

Reports are coming in of a revolt against the Taliban regime from the northern area of Namroze, but the Taliban official did not provide any details in this regard saying, "Extra troops have been sent to Namroze and there is nothing to worry about. Inshallah [God willing], everything will be alright."

Meanwhile, the power supply to main city areas of Kabul and Kandahar was restored Tuesday afternoon, but Kandahar, Arghazan, Jalahore, and Maroof remain without electricity thus far.

These areas have been badly affected in the second wave of air strikes; deep ditches and the sprawling debris of houses and other buildings could be seen.

Radio Kabul was restored Monday night after a 24-hour halt in services.

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