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| Afghanistan |
| 50 Tomahawks hit Afghanistan |
| 2001-10-08 |
Terrified residents of the Afghan capital began emerging from their homes on Monday after punishing waves of air attacks by the United States and its allies on Taliban targets across the country. As dawn broke and a curfew was lifted, it was still too early to tell what damage or casualties had been caused by at least three waves of attacks. But witnesses reported some deaths in Kabul although it was unclear if they were civilians or soldiers. ``People have seen some bodies from the attacks,'' one witness told Reuters. ``There are several deaths.'' Electricity went off almost immediately, although it was not clear if this was the result of strikes or a defensive measure. It was restored about 90 minutes later. The Taliban's Voice of Shariat radio has been off the air since the first attack. Minutes after Kabul came under attack, so too did the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, location of the headquarters of Mullah Omar, protector of the chief suspect in last month's attacks on the United States, the multi-millionaire militant bin Laden. Residents reported a mass exodus from the city as panic spread. The eastern city of Jalalabad and surrounding guerrilla training camps were next, and there were reports that western Herat as well as the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif came under fire. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the raids included B-2 stealth bombers flying from the United States and 50 air- and ship-fired Tomahawk cruise missiles. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |