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Anti-aircraft fire crackled in the night sky over Kabul, signalling the start of a second night of attacks by the US and British coalition. As the new wave of strikes began, the Taliban insisted previous strikes had missed their mark.
Power was cut in the capital Kabul soon after the latest barrage began, and Taliban radio ordered people to close their blinds, shut off the lights and stay indoors.
About 20 minutes after the anti-aircraft fire began, two loud explosions could be heard north of the city in the area of the airport. Other strikes were under way at the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, a Taliban official said. Three bombs fell - one each in the eastern, western and northern parts of Kabul.
The targets were unclear. However, the western section includes a television transmission tower, and the airport is in the north. The abandoned Balahisar Fort is in the eastern district.
Taliban gunners responded with heavy bursts of anti-aircraft fire. One high-flying plane could be seen dropping flares before the detonations.
Frightened Kabul residents said they heard jets roaring overhead and Taliban gunners responding with long bursts of anti-aircraft fire.
The Afghan Islamic Press agency said US warplanes attacked targets around Kabul and Kandahar. It also said planes had attacked the northern cities of Mazar-eSharif and Kunduz.
The agency, which has connections to the Taliban, said one bomb landed near a 400 bed womens' hospital in Kabul but made no mention of any damage.
The reports could not be independently confirmed because a curfew was in effect in the city. The agency said it had no details of targets around Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said tonight's assault was by American forces only. British aircraft provided logistical support
He said the latest attacks were carried out by 10 USAF bombers - B-2 stealth planes and B-1Bs - as well as 10 strike aircraft launched from aircraft carriers and by naval vessels firing Tomahawk cruise missiles.
US President George W. Bush said yesterday's strikes, which reportedly were aimed at 30 targets, went "as planned." Defense Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, described them as "very successful."
"All the aircraft returned safely, the humanitarian food and medicine drops were successful ... so we feel that thus far it has been a very successful effort," Mr Rumsfeld said. But he warned the global effort will likely last "years."
The opposition northern alliance launched a big attack tonight on the Taliban position near Dara-e-Suf in the northern Samangan province, the agency said without giving further details.
Earlier, northern alliance forces closed roads to civilians and began moving Soviet-made medium-range Scud missiles south toward Kabul.
A top strategist for the anti-Taliban alliance said the rebels were preparing for a major offensive. In Kabul, the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar convened a meeting of ministers hours before the fresh attacks.
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A Tomahawk is launched
from the USS Philippine Sea last night |
Taliban radio said afterward that the US target was not bin Laden - prime suspect for the terror attacks on the United States - but that the strikes were aimed at a "pure" Islamic government.
The radio also derided the previous night's strikes as a failure. "The American bombardment and rocket attacks didn't hit their targets," it said.
Earlier it claimed it had definitely shot down one warplane and had reports of three others being downed last night.
"The sky was dark. There were rocket attacks from the Afghan side on these planes," Taliban envoy Mr Abdul Salam Zaeef told a news conference in the Pakistani capital.
"According to the sources one of the planes was shot down and there are rumours that three more were shot down. One is confirmed," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld denied the claim. "No aircraft were hit, no aircraft were damaged," he said.
There have been conflicting reports on casualties suffered in Afghanistan during the bombings.
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Taliban fighters in Kabul this morning
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The Taliban's official Voice of Shariat radio said this morning the attacks on Kabul had caused no casualties or material damage in the city, but two people were killed and four injured in the attacks on Kandahar.
However, the Afghan Islamic Press said 20 people had died in the Qasabah Khana neighbourhood near Kabul airport and 10 were killed near the radio station headquarters.
Taliban officials said bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had survived, and described the bombing as "horrendous" terrorist attacks.
Assessments of the impact of the first night of attacks were still under way, but Mr Rumsfeld said he believed "more work" needed to be done.
"Every target was a military target," he said.
Meanwhile US officials warned of the threat of new terrorist attacks against the US as Washington pursued its campaign, and Attorney General Mr John Ashcroft put the United States on its highest alert tonight.
"We are taking strong precautions and other appropriate steps to protect the American people while we win this war," Ashcroft told a news conference.
AFP and AP