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US warplanes target Afghan caves, drop huge bomb
US warplanes pounded tunnels and caves in Afghanistan`s mountains and the Pentagon said on Friday it had dropped a devastating `Daisy Cutter` bomb south of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar as the United States stepped up the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
US warplanes pounded tunnels and caves in Afghanistan's mountains and the Pentagon said on Friday it had dropped a devastating "Daisy Cutter" bomb south of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar as the United States stepped up the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
The U.S. military said up to 70 long-range bombers and tactical jets concentrated strikes on Kandahar and the rugged mountains of southern Afghanistan.
American B-52s also bombed the besieged northern city of Kunduz where thousands of Afghan Taliban and foreign fighters loyal to bin Laden are surrounded by Northern Alliance forces.
The Alliance suspended an assault on Kunduz to give the Taliban one more day to surrender, but said it would resume attacks on the city if there was no deal by Saturday.
"We have given them more time, until tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise, if there isn't a result after these negotiations, the fighting will resume," Northern Alliance Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah told reporters.
The U.S. military's Central Command said the 15,000-pound BLU-82 bomb, called a "Daisy Cutter," was dropped near Kandahar on Wednesday. It was only the third time the weapon -- which produces a blast like that of a small nuclear bomb and devastates an area 600 yards wide -- had been used in Afghanistan.
"A great portion of that bomb's effectiveness is its psychological impact on troops," said Maj. Brad Lowell, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. "Its intentions are to damage where it hits, and for the troops that can actually see it hit, it has a great psychological impact."
Lowell said U.S. jets were also systematically targeting caves and tunnels that might be used as hiding places by bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States that killed about 4,000 people.
Washington has offered up to $25 million for information leading to the capture of bin Laden and his top lieutenants.
U.S. media reported on Friday that U.S. special forces were far more active on the ground in Afghanistan than previously believed, conducting lightning raids to cut Taliban supply lines by intercepting and blowing up transport trucks.
NBC News showed television footage of the aftermath of a covert special forces raid on a column of oil tankers in southern Afghanistan and said 1,500 U.S. Marines could land at a temporary base in the area this weekend to join the search for bin Laden and launch more raids on the Taliban.
Bureau Report
American B-52s also bombed the besieged northern city of Kunduz where thousands of Afghan Taliban and foreign fighters loyal to bin Laden are surrounded by Northern Alliance forces.
The Alliance suspended an assault on Kunduz to give the Taliban one more day to surrender, but said it would resume attacks on the city if there was no deal by Saturday.
"We have given them more time, until tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise, if there isn't a result after these negotiations, the fighting will resume," Northern Alliance Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah told reporters.
The U.S. military's Central Command said the 15,000-pound BLU-82 bomb, called a "Daisy Cutter," was dropped near Kandahar on Wednesday. It was only the third time the weapon -- which produces a blast like that of a small nuclear bomb and devastates an area 600 yards wide -- had been used in Afghanistan.
"A great portion of that bomb's effectiveness is its psychological impact on troops," said Maj. Brad Lowell, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. "Its intentions are to damage where it hits, and for the troops that can actually see it hit, it has a great psychological impact."
Lowell said U.S. jets were also systematically targeting caves and tunnels that might be used as hiding places by bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States that killed about 4,000 people.
Washington has offered up to $25 million for information leading to the capture of bin Laden and his top lieutenants.
U.S. media reported on Friday that U.S. special forces were far more active on the ground in Afghanistan than previously believed, conducting lightning raids to cut Taliban supply lines by intercepting and blowing up transport trucks.
NBC News showed television footage of the aftermath of a covert special forces raid on a column of oil tankers in southern Afghanistan and said 1,500 U.S. Marines could land at a temporary base in the area this weekend to join the search for bin Laden and launch more raids on the Taliban.
Bureau Report