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Misdirected Air Strikes Kill More Civilians in Capital, Near Northern Front Lines
Monday, October 29, 2001
By Kathy Gannon / The Associated Press

Pakistan's main radical Islamic party vowed to step up the challenge to Musharraf, saying it and other religious groups would meet today to plan a 10-day protest in the capital to topple the president.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- AP
American airstrikes meant to punish the Taliban spilled over yesterday into residential neighborhoods of the Afghan capital, killing 13 civilians -- the second time in as many days that missiles have accidentally hit homes and killed residents.

Later yesterday, U.S. jets were back over the skies of the beleaguered Afghan capital, and strong explosions could be heard in the direction of the main road from Kabul to the opposition-controlled Bagram air base.

Weeping families buried their dead hours after the morning bombardment, apparently aimed at Taliban targets to the north and east of Kabul. "I have lost all my family. I am finished," said a sobbing woman in the Qali Hotair neighborhood on Kabul's northern edge.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesmen had no immediate comment on the latest strikes and civilian casualties involved. It has stressed repeatedly that civilians are never deliberately targeted.
(More: The Salem Evening News (Online Edition) News Source)
2001 © The Associated Press.

Dan