US Marines close in on Taliban HQ

Anti-Taliban tribal fighters have pushed to within five miles of the Taliban home base of Kandahar.

The troops have neared the city's boundary hours after the first wave of US Marines landed in southern Afghanistan.

Hundreds of Marines landed in helicopters south-west of Kandahar. They are to be followed by hundreds more.

A witness inside the southern Afghan city, contacted by telephone, has reported hearing heavy, continuous bombardment through the night in the vicinity of Kandahar, concentrated around the airport.

Backed by US bombardment, tribal forces have taken control of Takht-e-Pul and Toor Kotal, just east of Kandahar, said a former top Taliban official who has now defected. The official, Mullah Mohammed Khaqzar, is in radio contact with anti-Taliban commanders.

The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said American commandos are being dropped north of the city, and also near the Kandahar airport. It says the American forces have airlifted in heavy guns and tanks.

Taliban troops in their trademark pick-up trucks are still roaring through the streets of Kandahar, but administration buildings have been shut down and no officials are anywhere to be seen, the witness said.

A US military commander aboard a US amphibious assault vessel in the Arabian Sea, General James Mattis, says the Marines have seized a private airstrip in the desert within striking distance of Kandahar. Speaking from aboard the USS Peleliu, he did not provide any details about the operation.

Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Northern Alliance foreign minister, said negotiations for a peaceful takeover of Kandahar had failed. "The story of the Taliban is over. It is just a matter of time," he said.

Tribal leader Abdul Jabbar said his fighters, backed by US bombardment, seized control of Toor Kotal, just east of Kandahar. Taliban fighters briefly resisted before fleeing, he said.