Collateral Damage XII

In Kunduz, the implacable and incessant bombing is killing Taleban and civilians alike.

The Taleban troops caught in and around the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan have nowhere to go. They are completely surrounded, yet the bombing by US military aircraft continues. Carpet-bombing, the practice of dropping thousands of tonnes of explosives on a restricted area, has been effective against the poorly-equipped Taleban.

However, civilian casualties have been registered in the city. Nasid Mir, a civilian who managed to take his family out of the neighbouring town of Khanabad, said “The bombing of the last few days was terrible….People are dying of fear. Many normal people were killed, along with members of the Taleban”.

The Taleban, meanwhile, are trying to negotiate a surrender. The United States has declared that if the Northern Alliance requests it, there will be a temporary halt to the bombing campaign.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru