Afghan Alliance Eyes Kabul

KABUL, Sunday – Anti-Taliban forces fanning out from the key city of Mazar-i-Sharif made new gains in north-central Afghanistan on Saturday while stepping up pressure on the militia’s hold on Kabul, spokesmen said. But as opposition tanks and troop reinforcements massed north of the Afghan capital, the United States issued a blunt warning to the Northern Alliance to stay out of Kabul itself. The latest moves by the resistance forces came a day after they claimed their biggest victory of the five-week-old US-led offensive in Afghanistan by chasing the Taliban out of Mazar-i-Sharif without a fight. The opposition, backed by heavy US air strikes, seemed determined to follow up its victory in Mazar-i-Sharif with moves to increase the threat to the Taliban’s hold on Kabul. “We are getting ready for a battle to move towards Kabul,” opposition commander Amanaulah Gozar said at his base at Jabal Seraj, north of where thousands of Taliban troops were guarding access routes to the capital. AFP Ends