Talks to secure a peaceful handover of Kunduz collapsed, setting the stage for a possible battle involving thousands of foreign Taliban troops believed to be trapped there. American aircraft struck Taliban positions outside the city for the first time, and Northern Alliance commanders decided that they would move into the city, which its troops had surrounded. Pakistan denied reports that two of its passenger planes made flights to the city to evacuate Pakistan army troops. A senior Taleban emissary has gone to Islamabad to beg the United Nations to accept the surrender of between 15,000 and 20,000 Taleban fighters trapped in the province.
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11/16/2001 ||
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Armed followers of Hamid Karzai, who is still not dead, and former Kandahar governor Gul Agha have established positions in southern Afghanistan. The forces of the two commanders entrenched themselves after the Taliban refused to surrender the city. Ethnic Pashtun anti-Taliban fighters have taken control of Uruzgan province.
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11/16/2001 ||
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An Iranian radio station said Mullah Mohammad Omar and Osama bin Laden had fled to Pakistan. Afghan Islamic Press reported that Mullah Omar has decided to withdraw from Kandahar and retreat into the Afghan mountains. Washington Post adds that under the deal, control of the city will pass to Mullah Naqibullah and Haji Basher, two former commanders of Afghan resistance forces in the war against Soviet invaders who are not members of the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/16/2001 ||
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Pakistani holy warriors are deserting Taliban ranks and streaming home in large numbers, while in the streets of Peshawar portraits of Osama bin Laden go unsold. Pakistani authorities have blocked the return of Maulana Sufi Mohammad, who led thousands of volunteers to Afghanistan to join the Taliban fighting against the United States. No telling what he's going to do.
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11/16/2001 ||
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There were other reports that many Taliban leaders have arrived in Pakistan from Jalalabad. They evacuated that city on Wednesday after receiving an assurance of safe passage. Haji Mullah Khaksar, the Taliban Deputy Interior Minister, stayed behind in his official residence in Kabul and was said to have switched sides. Mohammed Atef, a former Egyptian policeman and one of bin Laden's senior lieutenants, was apparently killed by American bombs in or near Kabul.
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11/16/2001 ||
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In a gesture of breath-taking good sense, Kofi Annan's Deputy Special Representative Francesc Vendrell said that Pakistan, Iran, Russia and India do not qualify to join a multilateral force in Afghanistan under the UN flag, as they have interests in Afghanistan.
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11/16/2001 ||
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Frontier Post reports that an Islamic force from Jordan will take control of Kabul during next week in connection with the expected set-up for broad based government.
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11/16/2001 ||
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"One of the main purveyors of violence in this world has been this country, whether it's been against Nicaragua, Vietnam or wherever," actor Danny Glover stated at an anti-death penalty forum at Princeton University. Glover said America was the one to blame for bombing and terror around the world.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/16/2001 ||
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Lion & Lamb Project's Executive Director, Daphne White, has condemned Hasbro's GI Joe action figures, calling them "aggressive toys." Jeff McIntyre, a federal affairs officer for the American Psychological Association, agrees. He does not believe the 'good-versus-evil' scenario is a valid reason for kids to play with G.I. Joe. He said kids learn the wrong lessons from "militaristic" toys including G.I. Joe, "that have violence as endemic to their character."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/16/2001 ||
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Bill Ayers, the onetime Weather Underground terrorist who was quoted in the Sept. 11 New York Times as saying, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough," has resumed the promotion tour for his memoir, "Fugitive Days."
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11/16/2001 ||
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A wheelchair-bound man who arrived at a Metairie, La., mosque with two guns in a bag was booked with two counts of illegally carrying a concealed weapon.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/16/2001 ||
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The United Nations is sharply reducing its peacekeeping force in Lebanon amid increasing tension in the south. So far, Finland, Ireland, Nepal and Sweden have pulled their troops out of southern Lebanon. On Tuesday, the last members of the 650-member Irish contingent left the country. They'll probably do just about as much good when they get to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
11/16/2001 ||
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Palestinians fired a home-made rocket at an Israeli army position on the edge of the Gaza Strip. The rocket exploded but caused no casualties or damage. Palestinians also fired three mortar bombs into Israel, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, and a forth at the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim, again causing no casualties.
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11/16/2001 ||
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The Abu Sayyaf Group has called for the payment of $19,607 (P1m) for the safe release of Deborah Yap, a Filipina nurse. Roland Ullah, a hostage who was abducted in Malaysia in April 2000 has become an Abu Sayyaf leader, prompting authorities to believe he was a spy for the hostage-takers.
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11/16/2001 ||
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The fall of the Taliban regime is causing concern among Indian security officials who fear that fighters fleeing Afghanistan might find their way to Jammu and Kashmir.
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11/16/2001 ||
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Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah has urged Muslim clerics to be cautious in their pronouncements, saying they have a responsibility toward their faith and government. At a Khobar mosque, Sheik Mohammed al-Tawwash called on God to "protect the innocent Muslims and give them victory over the infidels and enemies of Islam" but made no mention of the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan. That's something, anyway.
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11/16/2001 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
