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U.S. Bombing Continues; Bin Laden Asks Pakistan to Halt Support
KABUL, Nov 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Intense U.S. bombing of Taliban positions in northern Afghanistan resumed Friday as the Afghan capital awoke worried about the impact of its latest attack, news agencies reported.
An American B-52 bomber was seen over the Shomali plain and Taliban positions about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Kabul early Friday, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Stratofortress dropped a wave of bombs on a hill occupied by the Taliban, which had already been hit two days before. A huge cloud of black smoke came up from the New Road, one of two key roads leading to Kabul.
Other bombs fell on the same target in later sweeps.
A huge explosion rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, late Thursday, as U.S. planes launched new air raids, residents said. However, it was impossible to check damage or casualties because of a curfew imposed by the Taliban in the capital.
Pakistan, meanwhile, was at the center of a new wave of diplomatic activity as the French, Saudi Arabian and Greek foreign ministers held talks in Islamabad on the anti-terrorism campaign.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal arrived on what was called an urgent and unexpected visit late Thursday for talks with President Pervez Musharraf.
No details were given, but it was his second visit in a week and he said there would be many more.
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Greece's George A. Papandreou were also to meet Musharraf on Friday.
Pakistan is a key member of the international coalition because of its frontline position. But Musharraf faces domestic pressure in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation over the U.S. strikes.
Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden reportedly urged Muslims in Pakistan to "confront the crusade against Islam" in a statement broadcast Thursday by the Arab satellite TV channel al-Jazeera.
Bin Laden accused Pakistan's government of "standing under the banner of the Cross while Muslims are being slaughtered in Afghanistan."
Al-Jazeera said it obtained a copy of the statement carrying a signature which was "the same signature which appeared in a previous statement" by bin Laden.
The Taliban, meanwhile, welcomed reinforcements from neighboring Pakistan Thursday and said they have shot down an unidentified U.S. plane.
Witnesses on the border said about 1,000 Pakistani tribesmen had crossed into Afghanistan on 50 vehicles and were met on the other side by the Taliban.
The Taliban's ambassador in Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, confirmed the Pakistanis had been given permission to enter.
Late Thursday, the Taliban said that fierce U.S. bombing had crippled Afghanistan's biggest hydroelectric complex.
A day after U.S. officials confirmed B-52 bombers were pounding Afghanistan, Taliban Education Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said U.S. raids severely damaged the Kajaki hydroelectric complex in Helmand province, knocking out power for Kandahar and Lashkarga.
"So far water has not started gushing out of the dam, but any further bombing will destroy [it]", Muttaqi said. "It may cause widespread flooding, putting at risk the lives of thousands of people."
Kajaki, 90 kilometers (56 miles) northwest of Kandahar, contains 2.7 billion cubic meters of water and irrigates land farmed by 75,000 families in a desert area where water is a precious commodity. There was no immediate U.S. confirmation of the raid.
BBC's online news service reported that U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice notably announced on Thursday that the U.S. "could not afford" to pause its war on Afghanistan for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
A BBC correspondent in northern Afghanistan said that opposition commanders were pleased to hear that the U.S. planned to continue its campaign.
The U.S. is also moving to step up its propaganda war against the Taliban with plans to launch a "Radio Free Afghanistan".
A committee of the House of Representatives approved legislation for the radio service, which will broadcast in local languages to explain America's war goals.
The radio initiative, which will cost about $20 million, is accompanied by a decision to speed up the flow of information between the combat zone and the West.
Along with Britain, the U.S. is setting up a rapid-reaction media center in Pakistan in a bid to counter enemy propaganda more efficiently, said the BBC.
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