“U.S. – U.K. Prepares to Attack Kandahar “

General Rashid Dostum of the Northern Alliance have placed 2500 troops in Kunduz, the last northern stronghold of the Taliban, on November 25, the AFP reported.

The AFP also reported that the troops led by Gen. Dostum have started to take over Kunduz and to send surrendered Taliban soldiers to Mazar-e-Sharif. Following the capture of the city, Taliban strongholds have been further reduced to cities in the south such as Kandahar.

CNN broadcast reported that the day, determined by the Northern Alliance as the deadline for surrender, saw hundreds of Taliban soldiers and foreign volunteer troops line up to surrender themselves. The number of those who surrendered themselves was 600 on November 23, 1300 on November 24, and 2000 on November 25.

Foreign sources say, however, that around 7000 Taliban forces including foreign volunteer troops are still in Kunduz. Around 400 foreign soldiers who surrendered to the Northern Alliance were detained for questioning about their connection to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. Taliban soldiers who surrendered were allowed to return home while some of them defected to the Northern Alliance to fight the Taliban. 2000 Taliban troops who continued their resistance in the village of Maidan Shahr, about 20 km away from Kabul, also surrendered to the Alliance after negotiations. The BBC reported that an Alliance force led by Gen. Hammid Kahrjai recaptured a small Taliban-occupied village 45 km southeast of Kandahar. The British Sunday Telegraph reported on November 24 that the U.S. and Great Britain are preparing a joint plan to attack Kandahar with a force of 25,000 troops.

Jong-Dae Ha orionha@donga.com