Defenders of the last Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan made a conditional offer of surrender Sunday after a day of devastating US airstrikes, the opposition Northern Alliance said.
US B-52s led a day of intense bombing on Taliban positions outside the city of Kunduz, sending huge fireballs skyward.
On Sunday evening, an opposition commander said the Taliban had offered to give up provided there was a guarantee of safety for foreign fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden.
Refugees fleeing the city of Kunduz over the weekend, meanwhile, told of terror at the hands of Taliban troops and bin Laden loyalists. One described a doctor shot and killed for not treating a wounded Taliban fast enough, and others said eight teen-age boys were killed for laughing at Taliban soldiers.
Witnesses also said at least 100 Taliban soldiers were shot, apparently by gunmen from their own side, as they approached Northern Alliance lines in an attempt to surrender.
The conditional surrender offer was reported by an opposition commander, Nahidullah, who said it was made during negotiations conducted by radio with the Taliban. The Taliban said they would surrender if the alliance guaranteed that non-Afghans fighting alongside them would not be killed and if the surrender were witnessed by United Nations representatives.
There are an estimated 3,000 non-Afghans fighting with the Taliban in Kunduz, including Arabs believed to be affiliated with bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terrorist network as well as Pakistanis.
There was no immediate word whether the opposition alliance has accepted the offer.
( November 19, 2001)
