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Talibs waiting for American assault at Kandahar
Taliban soldiers in large numbers have taken heavy weapons into the mountains near Kandahar to await any American assault, according to Afghan travelers reaching this border post Friday. Both Taliban sympathizers and others who denounce the fundamentalist government concurred that convoys had left the city, which is exposed in a valley, to dig into defensive positions on higher ground. Passing time seems to have polarized positions in the southern city, stronghold of Mullah Omar Mohammed, who heads Afghanistan's Taliban rulers who refuse to deliver Osama bin Laden in spite of the threat of U.S. retaliation. ``Kandahar is almost empty, and everyone remaining there is afraid,'' said Bashir Ahmed, 27, a trader who shaved off his Taliban-imposed beard the moment he reached Pakistan. ``No one knows what will happen tomorrow.'' Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2001-10-05 |
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