Alliance advances on trapped al-Qaida fighters

Thousands of Northern Alliance troops today advanced on al-Qaida fighters trapped in the surrounded city of Kunduz, and senior commanders said Taliban troops inside the city had agreed to lay down their arms this weekend.

Taliban representatives from inside Kunduz agreed to surrender the city in exchange for free passage to the Taliban’s southern stronghold, and said they would hand over the foreigners among them, alliance commanders said.