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U.S. Forces Mass, Taliban Urges Army Fight Hard
Monday, October 01, 2001
(4:24 PM ET)
By Peter Millership & Raja Asghar
Reuters

Asked in a BBC interview if the Taliban's days were now numbered, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf replied: "It appears so. It appears that the United States will take action in Afghanistan. We have conveyed this to the Taliban."

WASHINGTON / ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Reuters
The likelihood of U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan appeared closer on Monday after the Taliban defied U.S. demands to hand over Osama bin Laden and Pakistan's president said their days could be numbered.

The United States consolidated its military might in the region after the Islamic movement ruling Afghanistan openly spurned Washington's ultimatum to give up the man it says is prime suspect for suicide air attacks on U.S. cities nearly three weeks ago or face the consequences.

Afghan refugees read the Koran in a small mosque near a refugee camp on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan October 1, 2001. The likelihood of U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan appeared closer after the Taliban defied U.S. demands to hand over Osama bin Laden and Pakistan's president said their days could be numbered.
Photo Credit: Reuters.

For the first time since the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon which left more than 5,700 people dead or missing, the Taliban said they were holding the Saudi-born millionaire in secret for his own safety.

This blunt statement raised the stakes in the stand-off.
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Dan