Several hundred Northern Alliance soldiers advanced this morning toward the northern city of Kunduz to take up positions for a threatened offensive against besieged Taliban forces.
Sporadic artillery fire was heard as Northern Alliance forces moved two or three kilometres closer to the Taliban's last stronghold in northern Afghanistan amid reports most of the Taliban was ready to give up.
"The soldiers are taking positions at the front ahead of an offensive against the Taliban who have refused to surrender," an Alliance commander said.
"The majority of the Taliban agreed during the night to surrender," he said.
The Alliance delivered an ultimatum yesterday for the thousands of Taliban fighters besieged in Kunduz, giving them until this morning to surrender.
An estimated 3,000 to 9,000 fighters from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, including Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis, are trapped in the city.
AFP