Surrender Or Die, Taliban Told

KABUL, Friday – US warplanes heavily bombed the Taliban bastion of Kandahar on Friday while an Afghan opposition general gave a blunt ‘surrender or die’ ultimatum to thousands of militia surrounded in the northern city of Kunduz. The two cities, at opposite ends of Afghanistan, are the last major Taliban footholds as it battles to remain a recognised force in the country. Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said fierce US bombing of Kandahar in the south on Thursday night and on Friday destroyed the militia’s foreign ministry building and a mosque. The attacks killed 11 civilians and injured more than 25, according to AIP. There was no independent verification of the report. Pashtun tribes had reportedly started an uprising against the Taliban in Kandahar province and taken the provincial capital’s airport. Hamid Karzai, a former Afghan deputy foreign minister who has been trying to convince the militia to surrender the city, told AFP: “There is no report of any fighting in Kandahar this morning. The Taliban are still in control of Kandahar.” But he said the Taliban had relinquished neighbouring Uruzgan, Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar’s native province, after negotiations on Friday. The Taliban faces a more desperate challenge in Kunduz, about 600km to the north, where the opposition says it has surrounded some 30,000 Taliban, including more than 10,000 foreign fighters. A Northern Alliance general said, “There are talks going on for the Taliban to surrender. Those who refuse will be killed,” said Mohammad Daud. He said the governor of Kunduz had called for a two-day grace period before the Northern Alliance attacks the city so inhabitants can flee. “At the end of two days, we will attack. We want to enter Kunduz before winter,” he added, saying fighting would not stop for the start of Ramadan. AFP Ends