Mullah Omar reportedly holing up in northern Afghan town Kunduz

Kyodo News and IRNA ^ | November 15, 2001

[HAL9000]

TEHRAN, Nov. 15 Kyodo - Supreme Taliban leader Mohammed Omar has holed up in Kunduz, the only major city held by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan, and has been using local residents as human shield against rebel attacks, Iran's news agency IRNA said Thursday, quoting a senior Iranian diplomat in Tajikistan.

IRNA said the Iranian diplomat, the minister at the Iranian Embassy in Tajikistan, gave no details about Omar's whereabouts but assured that the information came from a reliable source. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the south.

IRNA said 30,000 Taliban fighters are defending Kunduz and have barred local citizens from leaving the city, using them as ''human shield'' against attacks by the Northern Alliance.

---

FROM IRNA

Mulla Omar is in Kunduz, reliable informed sources

Dushanbe, Nov 15, IRNA -- Taliban leader Mulla Mohammad Omar is in the northern Kunduz province, the deputy ambassador of the Afghanistan Islamic government to Tajikistan Mohyuddin Mahdi told IRNA here Thursday citing reliable informed sources.

He said he was unaware of further details, but reiterated the authenticity of the news could be vouchsafed.

Taliban's fierce resistance in the province in the face of the United Islamic Front's besiege of the region has further given rise to speculations that Omar could be in Kunduz, Mahdi said.

According to reports, Taliban have gathered 30,000 of their fighters in Kunduz and are preventing residents from leaving the province, using them as human shields against probable attacks of by the alliance or the US.

They have so far shrugged off calls to to turn themselves to the alliance forces.

Taliban fighters are making a last stand in the besieged city, where thousands of the United Front soldiers are reported preparing for an assault.

BH/AR
End
::irna 17:33

[princess leah]

sounds like Waterloo all over again, only this time there will be no exile off St. Helena for 'ol Omar.

[rockfish59]

it doesn't get much uglier than omar!!

[Roger_W_Isom]

MSNBC just reported folks that the Military situation is so fluid inside the TALIBAN it COULD COLLAPSE NO LATER THAN the next 48 HOURS FOLKS!!!

[The Real Deal]

sounds like Waterloo all over again, only this time there will be no exile off St. Helena for 'ol Omar.

I think he will be in exile in Hell forever. He and BinLaden can count the mistakes they made, and the sins they commited.

[rockfish59]

satan to omar:

YOO-HOO! the 72 virgins are WAYYYting!!!

[Roger_W_Isom]

I'm hearing some 20, 000 people are in the area... so I'm wonderring if we aren't going to see a BREAKOUT attempt by the Taliban so as to high tail it to the Pakistani border????

[Clinton's a rapist]

Hope so. What a turkey shoot that would be!

[Roger_W_Isom]

Can you say ETHNIC CLEANSING????? Because we have ALL THE INGREDIENTS for just that sort of outrage folks!!!

[Rumierules]

Prediction: Osama dead by Monday.

[NC Conservative]

He is so ugly you could throw him in a pond and skim ugly for two weeks.

[Amore]

It would be perfect to get this guy. He's a big gun, so it would be a great victory (and rectify a mistake made early on). And as others have said, leave bin Laden for another day so that there is no call to stop the fighting prematurely.

[Economist_MA]

Two things here - while ethnic cleansing is per se a nasty thing, when applied to a bunch of foreign invaders who were brought into your country by OBL to help supress you I don't really mind.

The other point you raise does indeed baffle me - if there are 20,000 Arabs and Taliban in Kunduz then they should definitely be able to break out. Something doesn't fit here.

[Roger_W_Isom]

AH!!! WHY do I Have VISIONS of the Iraqi's on the HIGHWAY OF DEATH outside KUWAIT City????? :-)))) These IDIOTS OBVIOUSLY haven't learned A DAMN THING!!! ROFL

[NC Conservative]

[mathurine]

These ISLAMIC leaders say that if God is with them America will be destroyed. Evidence currently would suggest that God is not with them. Logic, therefore, would say that these Islamic MF's should abandon that religion and try to find a good one.

[Roger_W_Isom]

Wouldn't it be FUN to fin out the name of the "RELIABLE INFORMED SOURCE" were???? THAT guy would last exactly ONE SEC folks!!! if old Omar knew that person's name!!! ROFL

[dr_who]

Cowards to the very end.

[Roger_W_Isom]

I was thinking more of those Taliban thugs doing the ETHNIC CLEANSING.. For that would be ENTIRELY within these PUNKS mentality.... .. As for the 20,000 troops thats what I've been hearing from foxs saying the "Reported strength" was... take it from there!!!

[blam]

Just read and posted an article that clears up the 'heavily'. They do mention B-52's.

[Paradox]

Holy Cr*p that was funny! My wife thinks I am a raving lunatic here... LOL!