Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia said Monday one plane was shot down and three more were reportedly downed during attacks by US and British forces.
"The sky was dark. There were rocket attacks from the Afghan side on these planes," a Taliban envoy told a news conference in the Pakistani capital.
"According to the sources one of the planes was shot down and there are rumors that three more were shot down. One is confirmed."
Taliban diplomats including Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef laughed when asked if reporters would be shown the wreckage of the plane which was allegedly shot down during overnight air and missile strikes.
US and British forces targeted Taliban facilities across the country overnight Sunday, including Kabul, the militia's southern stronghold of Kandahar and the major provincial capitals.
The attacks, which are expected to last for weeks, marked the opening of the military phase of the US-led war against terrorism following the devastating September 11 atrocities in New York and Washington.
Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, a "guest" of the Taliban in Afghanistan since 1996, is the prime suspect for the terrorist strikes.
But Zaeef said terrorism was just a "pretext" for the United States to launch a war against the Islamic world, and dismissed allegations that the Taliban was involved in any terrorist activity -- ISLAMABAD (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
