'Gunfight' rages near stronghold of Taliban

JABAL SARAJ, Afghanistan -- U.S. jets struck Taliban targets across northern Afghanistan on Thursday and fierce fighting was reported around the Taliban-held city of Mazar-e-Sharif, cornerstone of the Islamic militia's control of the north.

The commander of the U.S.-led coalition confirmed a "gunfight" was raging south of Mazar-e-Sharif, although he refused to give details. Taliban and opposition spokesmen described intense fighting, with front lines moving back and forth around a key ridge south of the city.

Opposition spokesman Ashraf Nadeem said the northern alliance was so confident of victory that commanders have met to discuss how to storm Mazar-e-Sharif without destroying the city.

"We are trying to take the city with the least destruction possible," Nadeem said in a satellite telephone interview. "The Taliban are scattered and we hope that they will leave Mazar-e-Sharif. We will take Mazar-e-Sharif, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few days."

Elsewhere, U.S. jets and B-52 bombers repeatedly hit Taliban targets along the front line about 30 miles north of the capital, Kabul, and around Kandahar, the southern city that is the headquarters of the Islamic militia.

Huge plumes of smoke billowed from Taliban positions, which did not fire anti-aircraft guns as they have on past bombing runs over the capital. It was unclear whether the guns had been knocked out or whether the Taliban were just saving ammunition.

Most front-line Taliban installations have been destroyed and Taliban troops were moving around to evade U.S. bombs, said Bismillah Khan, an opposition commander.

In other developments:

Hundreds of Japanese sailors loaded a small flotilla of warships Thursday as Japan made good on its unprecedented pledge to support U.S.-led forces in the war against terrorism.

The Afghan Islamic Press reported that the Taliban have arrested 16 Afghans on suspicion of spying for the United States.