The North Alliance Equipped with Missiles. Several Combats in Three Areas

The Taliban and its opposition Northern Alliance continue to engage in battle in three areas of Afghanistan. Among those, Baghlan, which is located 30 kilometers north from the capitol Kabul, is most severe battle zone. Since it is a gateway to Kabul and has the only all-weather airport in Afghanistan, they have had fierce battles in this area for last three years.

The Taliban put about 15,000 soldiers, and the Northern Alliance about 5,000, into this area, thus deploying their major forces.

On Sept. 29, when I visited the foremost front line of the Northern Alliance just 400 meters away from the Taliban camp, I heard the occasional boom of cannons over the hill and continuing sound of automatic rifles.

The Northern Alliance said a severe battle continued till three days ago, and ``both sides are preparing for a full-scale war to be signaled by U.S. attack on the Taliban.``

Troops in the rear, which were located at a distance of 30-minute drive, were also busy preparing for battle. There appeared four tanks and a former Soviet surface-to-surface missile of a range of 60 kilometers.

It was for the first time that a foreign news reporter ever found the Northern Alliance to possess an offensive weapon of mass destruction.

Chief Commander Maulrono Abdulamon said ``This missile has been saved for an important moment.``

Even thought the military power of the Northern Alliance was inferior to that of the Taliban, the soldiers were confident of victory probably because of their expectation to turn over the war situation as the U.S. begins to attack on the Taliban. Commanders argued ``Baghlan, the capitol Kabul, Kandahar that is the Taliban`s base, and borders of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be the most severe battle fields.`` and ``the Northern Alliance will take the initiative immediately as the U.S. begins to attack.``

The Northern Alliance is also striving for international support through diplomatic channels. The foreign minister of the Northern Alliance Abdullah Abdullah insisted at an exclusive interview with me. ``The Taliban is recognized as the official government only by Pakistan whereas the Northern Alliance is recognized by over 50 countries, and it is only official government that joined the United Nations.`` He was reported to visit Dushanbe, the capitol of Tajikistan on Oct. 1 to talk about the military plans against the Taliban with delegates from Russia and the West.

kimkihy@donga.com