Negotiations said underway for Taliban to abandon Spinboldak as Marines move into Afghanistan

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press Writer

QUETTA, Pakistan – Pashtun tribal leaders were said to be negotiating with the Taliban on Monday to hand over positions near the Pakistan border after U.S. Marines landed in southern Afghanistan, bringing the war against terrorism to the heartland of the Islamic militia.

U.S. warplanes flew throughout the day Monday near the border between Pakistan and southern Afghanistan after Marines seized an airstrip near the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

With U.S. forces on the ground, tribal leaders said the Taliban were negotiating the handover of the border town of Spinboldak to non-Taliban groups among the Pashtun ethnic group which also makes up the Taliban.

There were fewer Taliban soldiers than usual on patrol Monday, and none at the Pakistan border crossing.

However, one Afghan tribal leader in Pakistan, Abdul Jabbar, said Monday night that efforts to persuade Taliban commanders in the Kandahar area had been obstructed by Osama bin Laden's lieutenants.

Jabbar said he spoke to front-line tribal commander Kamal Uddin, who said some Taliban commanders were willing to surrender but had been warned not to by members of bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Bin Laden and al-Qaida are held responsible by the United States for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

Witnesses in Spinboldak said they saw five clean-shaven Taliban fighters, one of whom said he shaved, "to save my life." Long beards had been required under strict Islamic rules once enforced by the Taliban.

Wearing clothing common to Pakistani civilians, half a dozen Taliban tried to slip across the border into the Pakistani town of Chaman. Pakistani troops sent them back.

Anti-Taliban tribal fighters said they had pushed to within 5 miles of the Taliban home base of Kandahar, which came under heavy U.S. bombardment as waves of U.S. Marines landed in helicopters in southern Afghanistan late Sunday and Monday.

Jabbar said tribal soldiers, backed by U.S. jets, seized control of Toor Kotal, just east of Kandahar. Taliban fighters briefly resisted before fleeing, he said in Chaman after speaking by satellite telephone to a commander at the front line.

Tribal fighters also said they had cut off a key road between Kandahar and Spinboldak, and that villagers near Kandahar were urging the Taliban to surrender.

One of the most visible symbols of the Taliban's dwindling authority had been Spinboldak, where Islamic militiamen held a news conference last week for dozens of journalists. Then, the Taliban vowed to fight to the death.

Tribal chiefs and Pakistan-based traders who feared their property might be damaged if there is U.S. bombing have been urging the Taliban to leave the town for days.

Taliban official Mullah Namatullah said an agreement to leave was reached to save civilians from U.S. bombing. However, Jabbar said negotiations were still underway late Monday.

Contacted by telephone, a witness in Kandahar reported hearing heavy bombardment Sunday night and Monday near the city, concentrated around the airport.

Taliban troops in their trademark pickup trucks still roared through the streets of Kandahar, but administration buildings were shut down and officials were out of sight, the witness said.

Tribal fighters said they took a checkpoint 3 miles from Spinboldak on Monday. Taliban soldiers at the checkpoint retreated when they saw a U.S. helicopter approaching, according to Bacha Agha, brother of tribal commander Gul Agha Sherzai. Tribal fighters then opened fire, injuring two Taliban militiamen, he said.

"Now there will be no more negotiation," Bacha Agha quoted his brother as saying. "Force will decide."

Most fighting in Afghanistan so far has been in the northern half of the country, with the northern alliance inflicting defeats on the Taliban with the help of U.S. bombing. The Taliban have traditionally drawn most of their support from Pashtun groups in the south.

AP-WS-11-26-01 1644EST