| U.S. jets pounded the front north of Kabul night and day, elating opposition commanders, who said the bombardment was doing just what it should: weaken Taliban defenses of the capital. Opposition forces, meanwhile, claimed to be gaining ground at Afghanistan's other key front, outside the Taliban-held northern stronghold of Mazar-e-Sharif. The Pentagon confirmed it had lost an unmanned Predator spy plane over Afghanistan; it denied the Taliban had downed either the drone or a U.S. helicopter that went down overnight, blaming bad weather in both incidents. Opposition forces said jets hit Taliban tanks and a Taliban headquarters village on a hillside overlooking the Shomali Plain. (STEVEN GUTKIN, AP) |