Northern Alliance say they control city

The Northern Alliance say they are in control of Mazar-e-Sharif.

They say hundreds of Taliban fighters died in the battle.

A spokesman says there will be no massacre in the city.

The spokesman for General Rashid Dostum, who led the Northern Alliance attack, says their forces are fully in control of the strategically important city.

Sibghatulla Zaki says the Taliban endured heavy losses.

He said: "In the last five days, fighting for Mazar-e-Sharif, they (the Taliban), lost a lot of people, some 500 Taliban people killed, some 400 arrested.

"The Afghans will not repeat their mistakes again. This time is totally different from the past. Now the fighting is to liberate the country from the terrorist element and their supporters.

"I think they will not kill each other and there will be no massacre."

The spokesman says Northern Alliance forces have an ability to make an attack on Kabul, but they are waiting for a decision from all Afghans about a broad-based government for Afghanistan.

Winter will not stop the conflict, he told the BBC.