Omar ... vow to destroy US
NORTHERN Alliance forces captured 20 senior Taliban leaders as they tried to slip the noose tightening around them in Afghanistan, it was revealed early today.
The men were believed to include a provincial governor-general, Herat’s police chief Mullah Samad and the city’s governor Mullah Baradar.
Alliance General Azizula Afzali said some had tried to disguise themselves by shaving off their beards and destroying documents.
They were among Taliban trying to escape the Alliance’s rampage through northern Afghanistan in a convoy of 60 vehicles which was stopped in Golran district.
A US official said: “We have heard that the Northern Alliance may have come into possession of some Taliban leadership earlier today.”
He said the Taliban leaders will be questioned about the possible whereabouts of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar and terror chief Osama bin Laden.
The Taliban deserted Herat, in north-western Afghanistan, on Monday after locals rebelled and seized weapons.
Warlord Ismail Khan was then voted governor by a meeting of city elders. He was governor of Herat for three years until the Taliban seized power in 1995.
Meanwhile Mullah Omar and bin Laden have vowed to fight to the death and never give in to America.
Omar warned in a BBC World Service interview by satellite telephone that he was dedicated to destroying America.
Asked if the threat was related to bin Laden’s warning that he had nuclear weapons, Omar replied: “This is not a matter of weapons. We are hopeful for God’s help. The real matter is the extinction of America.”