US kills 100 civilians in attack on Afghan village

The United States has killed between 100 and 200 civilians in a bomb attack on a small village in eastern Afghanistan, according to eyewitnesses fleeing the scene.

Lalgul, a 33-year-old farmer from Kama Ado village, said US jets made four passes overhead and dropped more than 25 bombs.

He said he rescued four people from the rubble of the village, which was completely flattened by the attack. All of those killed were innocent civilians, he said.

The US has been targeting sites in eastern Afghanistan where it believes Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden is in hiding. An estimated 1,000 foreign Taliban fighters and al-Qaida members are reportedly based in a tunnel complex built into the mountains at Tora Bora, near the city of Jalalabad.

The caves, which were build during the Russian invasion and are invincible from air attack, are surrounded by steep, well-defended mountains.

Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman in the southern city of Kandahar has confirmed that the Taliban is still in control of the city. Syed Tayyab Agha also denied US claims that the Taliban is negotiating a surrender with local Pashtun tribal leaders.

The former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, said the regime rejected peace offers made by local tribesmen in exchange for a surrender of power. “An honourable death is better than a life of humiliation,” he said.