Afghan opposition says it captured town, two villages

Associated Press WriterBAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan opposition forces claimed the capture of several villages Tuesday near the strategic northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, after U.S. warplanes cleared the way with intensive bombing.

It was the first significant movement reported on the ground against the Taliban after U.S. jets stepped up bombardment of the Islamic militia's defenses. For weeks, the opposition northern alliance has been unable to advance against Taliban lines and complained the bombing was not heavy enough.

U.S. jets also struck Taliban front-line positions north of the capital, Kabul, swooping down to drop more than a dozen bombs near an air base held by opposition forces but besieged by Taliban forces.

Meanwhile Tuesday, Germany offered up to 3,900 troops for the war on terrorism, opening the way for what could lead to the nation's widest-ranging military engagement since World War II. But Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder said there were no immediate plans to deploy ground troops. Other countries including Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey have contributed or pledged forces, if needed, to the campaign.

The Afghan opposition's capture of the towns south of Mazar-e-Sharif could not be independently confirmed. And even if true, the rebels remain several dozen miles -- across tough mountainous terrain -- away from the city.

Opposition forces, which launched a three-pronged attack Sunday, seized the town of Ogopruk and two nearby villages about 45 miles south of the city in a pre-dawn assault Tuesday, said Ashraf Nadeem, an opposition spokesman.

"We attacked while the Americans were bombing," Nadeem said in a satellite telephone interview. "It was not only us who killed. It was mostly the Americans."

Some 300 Taliban were killed in five hours of fighting for the three areas, and 300 others defected to the opposition, Nadeem said. Five opposition fighters were killed, he said.

There was no immediate Taliban comment on the opposition reports. Both sides often exaggerate battlefield claims.

Nadeem said the alliance also captured 10 artillery pieces. After the fighting, the opposition now held the districts of Ogopruk, Kishanday and Zaray.

The seizure allowed opposition forces to push Tuesday toward Shol Ghar, and heavy fighting was reported about 27 miles southeast of Mazar-e-Sharif, Nadeem said.

The Taliban have reinforced their front lines with 400 fresh troops, including Arab and Pakistani volunteers, Nadeem said.

American military planners want the Afghan opposition, a loose coalition of fighters dominated by ethnic minority Tajiks and Uzbeks, to make significant gains ahead of winter. Fighting traditionally tapers off then because snow closes roads and hampers the resupply of troops.

U.S. jets have been pounding Taliban positions defending Mazar-e-Sharif throughout the air campaign, now in its fifth week.

Taking Mazar-e-Sharif -- which the rebels lost to the Taliban in 1998 -- would open a major supply route from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

In Kabul, Taliban gunners opened fire at what appeared to be a small U.S. spy plane that cruised over the capital mid-afternoon Tuesday. Later, puffs of black smoke could be seen in the southern outskirts of the city.

At the front line north of the capital, U.S. jets targeted Taliban-held territory near the Bagram air base in two separate raids Tuesday, and black smoke blanketed the area. After dropping 10-12 bombs at midday, U.S. planes later fired at least six bombs on Taliban positions in the villages of Khan Agha and Barikab, just over a mile east of the air base, witnesses said.

Shots rang out on each side of the front. Opposition fighters say Taliban fire has lessened in recent days, but some say the lull is a sign the Taliban is saving ammunition to repel a large opposition advance.

Zaubet, a 19-year-old opposition fighter, said he had seen the Taliban bringing in men and supplies in Datsun pickup trucks in the past few days.

The commander of an opposition force of 70 men said they had not been paid their $10 monthly salary in six months, though he said it wasn't affecting morale. His ragtag force did not appear well-armed or well-fed.

Meanwhile, a small group of American military personnel is in Tajikistan assessing the possibility of using at least three bases there to expand the U.S. bombing campaign and strengthen support for Afghan opposition forces.

Bases in Tajikistan would shorten the time it takes U.S. pilots to reach their targets. Most of the attack planes now come from ships in the Arabian Sea or airfields outside the region.

U.S. officials have confirmed sending more special troops into Afghanistan to help coordinate air strikes and provide other assistance to the opposition.

President Bush launched airstrikes against Afghanistan on Oct. 7 after the ruling Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden for his alleged role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed 4,500 people in the United States.