No break during Ramadan: Rumsfeld

WASHINGTON, OCT. 30. The Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, has ruled out a halt in American airstrikes on Afghanistan during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. A report from Jabal Saraj in Afghanistan said that in continuing U.S. attacks, a huge explosion hit the Bagram front lines, about 40 Km north of Kabul, today sending up a mushroom cloud that billowed at least 1000 feet into the air.

``The Taliban and the Al-Qaeda are unlikely to take a holiday. Given the fact that they have killed thousands of Americans and people from 50 or 60 other countries, and given the fact that they have sworn to continue such attacks, we have an obligation to defend the American people, and we intend to work diligently to do that,'' Mr. Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference on Monday.

Responding to suggestions that the military effort may have bogged down, Mr. Rumsfeld repeated warnings that the anti- terrorism effort would not be a short one. ``This will not happen overnight,'' he said. ``It is a marathon, not a sprint. It will be years, not weeks or months.''

He said the bombings had killed some leaders of the Taliban military and the Al-Qaeda network, but not the top ones.

Three weeks of bombing had taken a toll on the supporters of Osama bin Laden, who the U.S. Government believes was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Asked about reports that the Taliban had arrested Americans in Afghanistan, Mr. Rumsfeld said, ``There have been no American military captured. Whether someone else may have been ... I don't think so.''

Rumsfeld also addressed charges that the U.S. bombing was killing civilians. ``We know victory will not come without a cost,'' he said. ``Let us be clear, no nation in human history has done more to avoid civilian casualties'' than the United States.''

In Afghanistan, as U.S. jets flew overhead on Tuesday, the opposition deployed hundreds of elite fighters near the front north of Kabul - well-armed, trained, and ready for the order to march on the capital.

Across Taliban-held territory, U.S. jets rained bombs on the front line in Kalay Katair in the Takhar province, the Taliban southern stronghold city of Kandahar and two districts of the northern Balkh province that borders Uzbekistan, said Taliban and opposition spokesmen.

``They hit very important positions of the Taliban'' in the Balkh bombing, said the opposition spokesman, Mr. Ashraf Nadeem.

A huge explosion on Tuesday at the Bagram front lines created a mushroom cloud. Two U.S. planes heading south later dropped two bombs in the area.

- AP

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Pak. n-arms in safe hands, hopes Fernandes
Next     : Pak. begins talks to end blockade