11/24/2001

By Tracey Eaton / The Dallas Morning News

SAKA, Afghanistan — Amid conflicting reports of a surrender, Northern Alliance forces pushed deeper into Taliban territory Friday near Kunduz, the Islamic militia's last northern stronghold, as U.S. warplanes hammered targets east of the city.

U.S. B-52s and attack jets bombed anti-aircraft guns and other targets near the town of Khanabad, east of Kunduz. As the bombs fell, alliance troops chased retreating Taliban fighters.

The U.S. attacks "are a great help to our ground forces," said Agha Padar, commander of a 20-man unit on the outskirts of Saka, a village near Khanabad.

Alliance commanders claimed to have killed or injured 150 to 200 Taliban fighters over the past day. At least another 1,500 have surrendered in recent days, they said, although neither claim could be verified.

If the advance continues and alliance forces take Kunduz, the Taliban will be left with only one major city, their southern base of Kandahar.

Alliance commanders near Kunduz gave conflicting statements Friday on how they expect the battle there to proceed. Gen. Rashid Dostum has told reporters that his troops were approaching the besieged city from the west to prepare for a mass Taliban surrender. Commanders east of the city said that surrender talks had broken down and that they expected to launch a major offensive on Kunduzy Saturday.

At least some of the differences in how these Afghan allies see the battle could be chalked up to rivalry. Gen. Dostum's troops are mostly ethnic Uzbeks, while the alliance forces east of Kunduz are mostly ethnic Tajiks.

The Tajiks may not want the Uzbeks to arrive in Kunduz first because that will leave them with more of the spoils of war: Taliban tanks, armored personnel carriers, weapons and perhaps even defectors who would then fight for the opposition. Some Afghans say the Tajik-Uzbek rift is so serious that fighting could break out between the two sides.

Alliance commanders deny that, but Mr. Padar, for one, remains wary of Gen. Dostum. "We will not let Dostum take Kunduz," he said without elaborating.

East of Kunduz, much of the village of Saka was still under Taliban control Friday, but alliance troops were trying to push the Taliban fighters out. Mr. Padar and four other soldiers were posted on the backside of a ridge overlooking the village.

Taliban sniper bullets whizzed past their heads as they watched the smoke rise from explosions left by bombs dropped from the B-52s. One soldier who was almost hit laughed as he took cover in a shallow hole in the ground.

Mr. Padar scolded him.

"You've got to duck," he said. "You should be in a place where you can see the Taliban, but they can't see you."

"OK, OK," the soldier replied.

At just 34, Mr. Padar is a 20-year veteran of war.

He said he became a soldier at age 14 after his father, then governor of Kunduz province, was assassinated.

Now he has a wife and children of his own. And for their sake, he said, he is trying to defend Afghanistan from foreigners.

"We want to be free," he said.

Overhead, B-52s swept across the sky, leaving long white contrails behind.

"Give the Americans the exact locations of the targets," Mr. Padar shouted into his radio. "We've got to finish off the Taliban."

The U.S. planes proceeded to knock out enemy targets one by one.

"One more heavy gun to take out and we'll be able to move onto that ridge," said Mr. Padar, pointing across the mud-brick rooftops of Saka. "Good, good."

Gen. Dostum, the alliance commander reportedly advancing on Kunduz from the west, is a well-known – and some would say notorious – military figure. He fought with the Russians during the Soviet occupation but switched sides in January 1992, joining the opposition.

The general's traditional base of support is Mazar-e Sharif, where his photo is splashed across buildings and signposts.

His forces controlled the city for years. On Aug. 1, 1998, the Taliban captured his headquarters at Shiberghan, west of the city, after some of his commanders changed sides in exchange for bribes.

Gen. Dostum fled to neighboring Uzbekistan and later journeyed to Turkey. Other commanders also fled, leaving 1,500 ethnic Hazara fighters vulnerable to attack.

The Taliban moved in on Aug. 8, killing all but 100 of them, according to Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, author of the book Taliban.

Taliban forces then entered Mazar-e Sharif. According to Mr. Rashid, Taliban soldiers spent two days killing Mazar soldiers and civilians. Men were shot three times: in the head, heart and testicles, according to Mr. Rashid.

Some human rights groups fear that Gen. Dostum will be out for revenge when taking Kunduz. Already, there are suspicions that the general's forces may have executed hundreds of people when re-taking Mazar-e Sharif earlier this month. Red Cross officials in Geneva said 400 to 600 bodies have been recovered, although it's unclear how they were killed.

Back along the front lines, Afghan peasants continue to stream out of Saka, Khanabad, Kunduz and other towns. The dirt paths leading out are marked with red-painted stones, indicating that land mines are scattered throughout the area.

A man named Mahidin, 58, fled Saka with his wife, children and two donkeys.

"The Taliban ordered us to leave our homes. They said, 'You should leave or you'll be killed.' They hurt innocent people. They do bad things."

In all, villagers say, more than 100 non-Afghan Taliban fighters are holed up in Saka. Alliance commanders say they likely are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations.

The Northern Alliance isn't quite sure what to do with the foreigners. Some commanders want to kill them whether they fight or not. Others say they should be jailed.

Most Afghan-born Taliban who surrender are being returned to their villages or allowed to keep their weapons and fight for the alliance.

Mr. Padar said all should be imprisoned.

"We don't trust the Taliban," he said. "They murdered Ahmed Shah Massood, our greatest leader. He fought by our side against the Soviets. He spent time with our troops even when battles were going on. He didn't care if he were killed or not."

Mr. Massood, the defense minister for the alliance, spent most of his life trying to free Afghanistan of foreign domination. On Sept. 9, two men posing as journalists blew themselves up, killing the 52-year-old leader.

Mr. Padar believes that foreigners among the Taliban were carried out the attack.

"Now we are going to take our revenge," he said. "Later Kunduz will fall and the Taliban will disappear. I will return to my home and my family. But if foreign invaders come into our country again, I will take up my gun and fight."