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Opposition Claims 80 Taliban Fighters Killed; Afghans Flee Cities, Fearing U.S. Aggression
Sunday September 23, 2001 (8:17 AM ET)
By Amir Shah / Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan -- AP
Heavy fighting between Taliban and opposition forces in northern Afghanistan was reported Sunday as the United States continued preparations for an attack to capture or kill suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and destroy his training camps.

An alliance of opposition groups claimed to have captured a key district of Balkh province and to have killed at least 80 Taliban militia fighters. Gen. Abdul Rasheed Dostum, chief of the Jumbish-e-Milli opposition group, said in a telephone interview that at least 200 Taliban fighters were captured and that his side had two men injured.

A Taliban official in Kabul confirmed the fighting but insisted the opposition alliance had made no gains in the region, 185 miles northwest of the Afghan capital. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not possible to independently confirm the claims of either side because all of Afghanistan's neighbors have closed their borders at the request of the United States and nearly all foreign officials, including U.N. and international aid workers, have left the country.
(More: The Nado Times News Source)
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