| At Kandahar fleeing Taliban fighters backed out of a deal to hand in weapons and surrender, said Hamid Karzai. "The Taliban ran away with their weapons,'' he said. "Basically they have just run away. The leaders and the soldiers. They have all run away from the city... They came in trucks up the road toward us. All of last night they were fleeing the city. Just running away. I thought they were coming here to attack us. But they weren't. They were running away.'' Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is missing and will be arrested if found. "The Taliban rule is finished. As of today they are no longer a part of Afghanistan,'' Karzai said. Karzai confirmed that chaos had broken out in several areas within Kandahar as a result of Taliban soldiers and leaders fleeing. He said there was no fighting between rival forces. However, frightened residents reported some looting had taken place and said gunfire could be heard. |