Hundreds of US marines and local tribesmen have seized territory south of Kandahar in Afghanistan. The troops are said to be involved in ground operations aimed at isolating the Taliban’s last stronghold. The city was under intense US bombardment today.
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and Osama bin Laden are trapped and surrounded there, according to senior Northern Alliance officials. US Defence Secretary, Donald, Rumsfeld, has said that he does not believe that the Taliban leader will give himself up alive.
However, this has not been confirmed by US officials. The arrival of the Americans marks the first major deployment of conventional ground forces in the conflict.
The US President has said that the campaign has entered a dangerous phase. George Bush warned that there could be American casualties.
Meanwhile, the US Defence Department has said that five of its soldiers were injured by a US bomb outside the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The Pentagon says that none of the injuries are life-threatening.
In a separate incident, a "very small" number of British military personnel were wounded in operations in Afghanistan, according to the British Defence Secretary.
Geoff Hoon's comments, made in the Commons, follow reports that four soldiers, members of the SAS, are being treated at a hospital in Birmingham.
One is said to be in a critical condition. Mr Hoon said that the Ministry of Defence would provide more details this afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has vowed to fight US forces to the death. The Afghan Islamic Press said that the Taliban still control Kandahar airport, which some opposition commanders say had fallen into their hands.
Afghanistan's Northern Alliance earlier said its forces had seized the city of Kunduz. Kunduz was the last stronghold of the Taliban in the north of the country. Roadblocks have been set up and journalists are being prevented from entering the town.
The Alliance's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, said its troops entered the city this morning after a two-week siege. Some fighting has been reported in the city centre, where groups of Taliban are said to be refusing to surrender.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Alliance troops and captured Taliban troops fought a second day of battles after a prisoner uprising. However, it is unclear tonight if the Alliance has succeeded in putting down the revolt, despite the backing of US and British special forces and US airstrikes.
