p_p_man
The 'Euro' European
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Two reports about the same battle by two well respected newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic:
From The Times (London) 24 November 2001
Alliance nerve fails in attack on Konduz
IAN COBAIN IN HAMIR HABAD, KONDUZ PROVINCE
ALMOST as soon as as the cries of “the Taleban are coming” echoed around the Chogha Valley yesterday, the long-awaited assault by the Northern Alliance on Konduz came to a swift and ignominious halt.
After being ordered to attack on Thursday evening, thousands of Alliance troops pushed forward several miles, killing dozens of Taleban soldiers and taking hundreds more prisoner.
But the chaotic and uncoordinated assaults from the east of the city foundered the moment that the Taleban forces rallied to mount a minor counter-attack. Within minutes, the Alliance forces were fleeing as fast as they could, some of them abandoning their Kalashnikovs in their desperation to get away.
Many of the Taleban troops who so terrified the Alliance fighters yesterday were well-armed Chechens and Arabs, who see little hope of emerging alive from the Konduz pocket, despite the prospect of a surrender deal, and are prepared to fight to the death.
From the New York Times 24 November 2001
Hundreds Stream Out of Kunduz As Surrender Talks Go On
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:56 a.m. ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Hundreds of Taliban fighters streamed out Kunduz Saturday to surrender to Northern Alliance forces that have been besieging the radical militia's last redoubt in northern Afghanistan for the past 10 days.
CNN television showed Taliban soldiers shaking hands with Alliance fighters and said they would be released once they had surrendered their weapons.
The Taliban troops drove out of Kunduz in dozens of vehicles, including a tank, but CNN said no foreign soldiers loyal to wanted Saudi militant Osama bin Laden were among those giving themselves up.
The determination of an unknown number of Arab, Pakistani and Chechen fighters trapped in Kunduz to fight to the last, along with Washington's similar determination that the defenders should not escape, have fueled fears of a bloodbath in Kunduz.
The Northern Alliance has warned the Taliban they would face a renewed assault if they did not lay down their arms.
From The Times (London) 24 November 2001
Alliance nerve fails in attack on Konduz
IAN COBAIN IN HAMIR HABAD, KONDUZ PROVINCE
ALMOST as soon as as the cries of “the Taleban are coming” echoed around the Chogha Valley yesterday, the long-awaited assault by the Northern Alliance on Konduz came to a swift and ignominious halt.
After being ordered to attack on Thursday evening, thousands of Alliance troops pushed forward several miles, killing dozens of Taleban soldiers and taking hundreds more prisoner.
But the chaotic and uncoordinated assaults from the east of the city foundered the moment that the Taleban forces rallied to mount a minor counter-attack. Within minutes, the Alliance forces were fleeing as fast as they could, some of them abandoning their Kalashnikovs in their desperation to get away.
Many of the Taleban troops who so terrified the Alliance fighters yesterday were well-armed Chechens and Arabs, who see little hope of emerging alive from the Konduz pocket, despite the prospect of a surrender deal, and are prepared to fight to the death.
From the New York Times 24 November 2001
Hundreds Stream Out of Kunduz As Surrender Talks Go On
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:56 a.m. ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Hundreds of Taliban fighters streamed out Kunduz Saturday to surrender to Northern Alliance forces that have been besieging the radical militia's last redoubt in northern Afghanistan for the past 10 days.
CNN television showed Taliban soldiers shaking hands with Alliance fighters and said they would be released once they had surrendered their weapons.
The Taliban troops drove out of Kunduz in dozens of vehicles, including a tank, but CNN said no foreign soldiers loyal to wanted Saudi militant Osama bin Laden were among those giving themselves up.
The determination of an unknown number of Arab, Pakistani and Chechen fighters trapped in Kunduz to fight to the last, along with Washington's similar determination that the defenders should not escape, have fueled fears of a bloodbath in Kunduz.
The Northern Alliance has warned the Taliban they would face a renewed assault if they did not lay down their arms.
