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| Afghanistan |
| Fighting escalates in northern Afghanistan |
| 2001-09-24 |
Fighting has escalated in northern Afghanistan as the United States prepares for military strikes against the Taliban unless they hand over Osama bin Laden. In the strategic Panjshir Valley 45 miles north of Kabul, heavy exchanges of mortar and artillery fire could be heard shortly before dawn Monday. Speaking in the Panjshir Valley, Rakhmat Ramazan, a spokesman for the northern alliance, said Taliban troops pounded opposition positions with artillery starting late Sunday. Raising his voice to be heard over the thundering explosions, Ramazan told reporters the opposition was preparing a counterattack. Heavy fighting was also reported late Sunday and early Monday in Balkh province, 175 miles northwest of the valley. Another opposition spokesman, Mohammed Ashraf Nadeem, said his forces were attacking the Taliban to try to win control of the district of Aq Kupruk. Battles has been under way in Balkh and the bordering province of Samangan for days. The Taliban have admitted losing control of the Balkh provincial village of Zari, 60 miles south of Mazar-e-Sherif. Loss of the village threatens Taliban control of a strategic highway linking central Afghanistan with Uzbekistan to the north. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |