US airstrikes targeting a meeting of Taliban leaders killed a commander who orchestrated the kidnappings of 23 South Koreans, Afghan officials said today.

As UN talks on the future of Afghanistan began in Germany, US Marines expanded their base of operations in southern Afghanistan, sending out heavily armed patrols.

US air strikes targeted outnumbered and cornered followers of Osama bin Laden today as a prison uprising in northern Afghanistan stretched into its third day.