Taliban 'in full retreat' in the north of Afghanistan

Afghan opposition forces claim they are routing the Taliban throughout the north of the country.

The Northern Alliance say they have captured their one-time headquarters of Taloqan and other strongholds.

The Taliban deny Taloqan has been overrun but it is clear their forces are in full retreat in the north.

In London, the British Prime Minister's official spokesman said it has been "a good 48 hours" for the coalition. "The momentum is very much with us, the Taliban is hurting," he said.

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon confirmed for the first time that British military personnel - believed to be the SAS - are active on the ground in Afghanistan.

The Alliance's apparently rapid advance prompted US President George W Bush warning them to steer clear of the capital city of Kabul.

It is a clear acknowledgement of the dangers of Kabul falling to the Alliance before a deal is brokered as to the make-up of a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan.

President Bush made his comments at a news conference on Saturday with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

General Musharraf warned that if the Alliance took Kabul now, the world would witness "the same kind of atrocities being perpetuated against the people there" as after the Soviet Union left Afghanistan more than a decade ago.

But restraining the Alliance may prove difficult. Their foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah says he cannot rule out a possible advance toward Kabul in the next few days.