News U.S. begins carpet-bombing offensive

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The United States on Nov. 1 launched the heaviest day of aerial attacks on a crucial battleground north of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Commanders of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance said several days of such raids by powerful B-52 bombers could weaken the Taliban so much that the alliance might feel confident in starting an offensive

"Today the air raids of the B-52s were the most successful," said Alou Zeki, the Northern Alliance's commander in Rabot

The newly concentrated bombings of the roughly 5,000 Taliban troops came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said "a very modest number" of U.S. military personnel are on the ground inside alliance-held territory

While the presence of U.S. troops in these areas has been known for some time, Rumsfeld's statement and the powerful bombings could indicate a new commitment by the U.S. to coordinate military operations with the alliance.

From morning till night, B-52s appeared from over the mountains that surround the flat Shomali Plain, where the Taliban and the Northern Alliance face off in a stalemate.

Unlike the agile F-18s the U.S. has been employing over this area, the B-52s drop "sticks" of bombs that cause much greater damage to a wider target area Ea tactic known as carpet-bombing.

米国、アフガニスタン空爆を強化

米軍は29日、アフガニスタンの首都カブールの北方でじゅうたん爆撃を開始した。

Shukan ST: Nov. 9, 2001

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