Opposition launches attack on Taliban forces

In an attack coordinated with US/British air strikes, the Afghan opposition tonight launched an attack on Taliban forces controlling the mountains surrounding the Bagram air force base north of Kabul.

Forces of the Northern Alliance fired multiple-rocket launchers under a starry skies and a clear night. There were no traces of the US-led air strikes that hit Kabul and other Afghan cities, but the opposition had been informed of those attacks before they began.

Charikar is 24 miles north of Kabul and very near the Bagram air force base, which the Northern Alliance has said would be a good place for US forces to use eventually.

The Northern Alliance controls the air base, but the Taliban dominates the high mountains around it.

After the opposition fired its rockets that exploded on the mountain slopes, the Taliban returned fire using Soviet-made BM-21 rockets, some of them which exploded 200 yards from where foreign journalists were observing the attack.

The Northern Alliance launched its latest assault on the Taliban after the US strikes had begun. Both sides were using heavy artillery.

The Northern Alliance, which has been battling the Taliban for years, hopes the US strikes will help in its struggle against the Islamic militia, which controls the majority of Afghan territory, including Kabul.

Russia and Iran are helping to supply the Northern Alliance with weapons.

The Northern Alliance uses Soviet-era weaponry, and thus Russia is the main supplier of ammunition, spare parts and replacement weaponry.

Abdullah has said the opposition’s primary goal is not seizing Kabul, but they would need to take control of the capital if they intended to exercise power.