Aided by heavy US bombing, opposition forces said they seized a district from Taliban forces on Wednesday and were closing towards Mazar-e-Sharif. Anti-Taliban troops took control of Shol Ghar district and some units were just 14 kilometers south of Mazar-i-Sharif, said Ashraf Nadeem, a spokesman for the opposition Northern Alliance. The report could not be independently confirmed and there was no comment from the Taliban.
The Taliban captured the city in 1998, and losing it would seriously weaken the Islamic militia`s position in northern Afghanistan.
US jets played a critical role in the opposition advance, targeting several pickup trucks packed with withdrawing Taliban troops as well as hitting fortified positions, Nadeem said by satellite telephone.
US warplanes also bombed Taliban positions on the Kabul front Wednesday. Witnesses said they heard no anti-aircraft fire from Taliban fighters, who have periodically tried to shoot down US jets since the bombing began exactly a month ago.
US jets dropped dozens of bombs late Tuesday and throughout the day Wednesday around positions about 30 miles north of Kabul. Some explosions were followed by up to 30 smaller detonations.
One bomb that exploded in the area sent up a huge streak of gray smoke that spread into a white mushroom cloud. US planes circled overhead.
Opposition commander Qand Agha, 30, said a US jet hit a Taliban tank northeast of Kabul and that a B-52 bomber dropped 20 bombs around the front line in one hour Wednesday afternoon.
"It is improving but it is not enough," he said of the bombing. "I would like to see the Americans drop at least 200 bombs a day."
Abdul Maaruf, a 17-year-old opposition fighter with blue sparkling heart stickers decorating his Kalashnikov, said Taliban artillery fire had diminished in recent days, possibly because gunners were choosing to hold their fire.
"If they don`t see any planes, they fire on us," Maaruf said. Taliban trucks have recently arrived with supplies, he said. Agha, the commander, said the Taliban were saving their ammunition ahead of a possible opposition offensive.
While four of his fighters observed the front from a rooftop lookout, the other dozen members of the unit played volleyball as the sun set over the plain. A warmer spell was melting snow on the surrounding Hindu Kush mountains and opposition fighters said trucks might be able to cross again soon, at least until the next snowfall. They predicted the passes will snow over by the end of the month, choking off supply routes until spring.
In villages surrounding Jabal Saraj, fliers that witnesses said were jettisoned from a B-52 bomber tumbled from the sky. Children and adults scrambled to pick them up.
The fliers showed a picture of a radio and antenna, and detailed times and frequencies for radio broadcasts in the Pashtun and Dari languages. The United States has been broadcasting anti-Taliban statements into Afghanistan.
The Taliban`s Bakhtar News Agency said bombs north of Kabul, in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the western city of Herat on Tuesday and Wednesday killed at least 23 people and injured several dozen. The report could not be independently confirmed, and the Pentagon has denied Taliban claims of widespread civilian casualties.
The agency said US planes dropped food packets before launching bombing raids, but angry residents burned the aid.
At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that an assessment of the opposition claims of gains outside Mazar-i-Sharif would have to wait until the "dust settled."
But after seesawing battles south of Mazar-i-Sharif in recent weeks, the opposition said intense strikes by American planes had opened the way. The Alliance had complained that US bombing was not heavy enough.
Nadeem said 500 Taliban soldiers had crossed over to the opposition side. The Taliban have previously denied reports of defections from its ranks.

The Northern Alliance`s key Shiite Muslim commander, Mohammed Mohaqik, said he wanted the assault on Mazar-i-Sharif to be carried out in a way that would minimize civilian casualties. Mazar-i-Sharif has a large Shiite Muslim population, although the majority in the city are ethnic Tajiks.
"We have to make plans over the next two days as to how to take Mazar-e-Sharif to reduce the number of casualties," he said. "But it`s a war, and with exchange of artillery fire and rockets, people will die."
Backed by US bombing, the Northern Alliance said it captured several areas south of the city on Tuesday. Still, winter is closing in and bad weather could slow the offensive.
The Pentagon has said small numbers of American special forces teams are working with Northern Alliance forces to train and equip them, provide them with additional ammunition and weaponry, and identify targets for US strike aircraft.
The Pentagon also intends to start delivering cold-weather clothing to the Northern Alliance, officials say.
President George W Bush launched airstrikes against Afghanistan on Oct. 7 after the ruling Taliban militia refused to hand over Osama bin Laden for his alleged role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
On Tuesday, Bush pledged "to keep relentless military pressure" on bin Laden and the Taliban, saying it is essential to keep terrorists from acquiring nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Bureau Report