Rana Fakhar in Jalalabad, Afghanistan
15oct01
FOREIGN journalists invited to view the devastation wrought by the US bombing of Afghanistan arrived in Jalalabad yesterday to find Taliban fighters dancing to the sound of incoming missiles.
A heavily guarded convoy carried the first journalists allowed into Taliban-controlled territory since US-led forces began their military campaign in Afghanistan a week ago.
It reached the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad early yesterday in the middle of a US air strike.
Three loud explosions rocked the city, one of them close enough to rattle the windows of the White Mountain Hotel, where the 19 journalists were being put up before visiting a village where the Taliban claim at least 160 people were killed in a US aerial attack.
While most of the reporters flinched at the blasts, armed Taliban guards outside the hotel laughed dismissively in the direction of the explosions and even danced with each other in a show of bravado.
The journalists were given a warm welcome in Jalalabad by Atiq Ullah Qazi, a spokesman for the Taliban foreign ministry.
"In the morning, we will show you the destruction and damage caused by the cruel attacks of the United States," Mr Qazi said.
"They want to capture Afghanistan."
The Taliban say they have recovered 160 mutilated bodies from Kadam village, 40km west of Jalalabad, after it was destroyed by US bombs on Wednesday night. There has been no independent confirmation of the toll, although the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel yesterday broadcast images of the destruction in the village.
The US has expressed regret at any loss of innocent lives, but has rejected Taliban accusations that it is deliberately targeting civilians.
