[Note that Rumsfeld insists that only the airport was attacked in Kabul. OG]

Thisislondon.com Kabul counts the cost

by Patrick Sawer

Attacks on Afghanistan: first strikes

At least 23 deaths were reported in Afghanistan today after the first waves of US and British bombardment against Taliban and terrorist targets.

As dawn broke and the overnight curfew was lifted, terrified residents emerged from their homes to survey the damage.

There are conflicting reports of casualties and with limited independent sources such reports have to be treated with care. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency reported 20 people dead in Kabul, with the Taliban saying at least three were killed in their stronghold of Kandahar.

Abdul Zaeef, the Taliban's ambassador in Pakistan, claimed "almost 30" deaths and threatened "severe" consequences.

At this stage it is not clear how many of the casualties are civilians or Taliban fighters. One Kabul resident said: "There are several deaths. People have seen some bodies from the attacks."

Taliban officials said Osama bin Laden had escaped unscathed, as had Mullah Omar. Asked if the two men were still alive, Zaeef said: "Thanks be to God." But he later admitted: "We have not taken contacts" with Bin Laden. He added that he was still inside Afghanistan.

He said the raids were a " horrendous terrorist attack" on Afghanistan, adding: "Civilians died. It was a very huge attack. The rockets killed a number of Afghans, including women, children and the elderly."

Zaeef claimed one plane had been shot down and there were "rumours" of three more brought down. He gave no further details and there was no confirmation of the claim.

Zaeef said Afghanistan in the past had resisted two invasion attempts by the British and one by the Soviets: "If the Americans irrationally think they will benefit from this action they have made a wrong assumption," he said.

Ten people were reported killed near Kabul airport on the northeastern edge of the city and another 10 died when a bomb fell near the official Voice of Shariot radio station, which had been implausibly denying the raid had caused any casualties.

Many of those Kabul residents who had not already fled the city in anticipation of air strikes in retaliation for the 11 September outrages are now planning to escape.

Thousands of children and elderly men and women huddled in buses and trucks as they tried to leave Kabul for the safety of Pakistan or for rural parts of Afghanistan less likely to be targeted.

One said: "I am leaving. I will sleep under the sky rather than stay in the city for another night."

A Taliban official said the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital in Kabul, close to a concentration of government offices and homes of officials, is treating several civilians.

One Taliban fighter, nursing injuries to his hands and leg, said: "I was in Karte Nau (east of the city). It was a military position and I lost four of my friends." At least one private house in Kabul was hit, but the shocked inhabitants reported only two sheep killed in the garden.

"We were listening to the radio when we heard the roar of the plane then a massive explosion," said a man who lived in the house and did not want his name reported. "The room where we live was full of smoke and we went outdoors.

"My children were all in deep sleep. We don't want this. Death to America and Bush. You are killers," said a neighbour helping to clean up the rubble.

Minutes after Kabul came under attack, so did Kandahar, location of Mullah Omar's HQ. An aide said he had a narrow escape, having left the city only 15 minutes before the missiles struck. Witnesses reported seeing black smoke billowing from his home.

A Taliban soldier was wounded in Jalalabad when a cruise missile hit the airport. Two other missiles missed their target and landed up to a mile away, injuring two, including a 14-year-old.

A second wave of even louder explosions rocked Kabul less than five hours later and a third wave triggered yet more anti-aircraft fire.

Once the first wave of the attack ended, witnesses said people poured into the streets. Taliban fighters fired machineguns into the air before ordering people back into their homes. However, residents living near the airport are reported to have ignored the curfew and began fleeing the area.

Taliban sources confirmed that missiles hit its military HQ in the heart of Kandahar, which had been mostly evacuated last week. However, the mud homes that line the same road apparently escaped damage.

In Kabul today the markets opened as usual. But many shaken residents are bracing themselves for a long conflict.

"Both sides are strong. America is not afraid and Osama is not afraid," said Fida Mohammed, a bus driver who lives near the airport. He has moved to his brother's house at the other end of the city.

"This fighting may be long. American people are eating chicken, and all we want is a piece of bread - and still we are in trouble."

Jalil, a waiter, whose brother was killed after the Soviets invaded in 1979, said: "Oh my God - we don't know what is happening in this country. Now we are afraid we will make another sacrifice, this time by American rockets."

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001