The Taliban's last fortress, Kandahar, appeared to be on the brink of collapsing on Sunday, as US warplanes battered the besieged city and US Marines and Afghan opposition groups prepared for what was billed as a final assault, said reports.
In Washington, meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the US believed Osama bin Laden was in the ``southern and eastern part'' of Afghanistan and it was ``just a matter of time'' before he was found and the Taliban were defeated, according to Reuters.
However, CNN quoted US military sources as saying that Taliban's Afghan fighters in Kandahar were backed up by Arab, Pakistani and Chechen volunteers who could resist until the end.
As troops massed for the assault, American bombers pummeled Kandahar to open the way for tribal fighters preparing to storm the nearby airport, according to AP.
Refugees who fled Kandahar for neighboring Pakistan told the agency that attacks by US B-52 bombers and other warplanes were "heavy and relentless."
In addition to the US contingent now dug in around the city, Pentagon officials said Sunday that a small number of British, German and Australian troops were in southern Afghanistan to coordinate with the Marines, according to CNN.
The US government launched its war on the Taliban on October 7 to punish them for sheltering bin Laden, the Saudi-born militant it blames for the September suicide attacks on New York and Washington which killed more than 3,500, said Reuters.
Talks Make Progress
At political talks in Germany, the United Nations pushed rival Afghan factions to finalize a post-Taliban administration after two decades of war, but said it could take another day to agree on who should do what job, according to Reuters.
At the political talks in Bonn, the dominant Northern Alliance, which now controls most of Afghanistan, and three exile factions have agreed to the outline of a power-sharing government during six days of intense talks, but are still haggling over its 25 to 30 members, reported the agency.
The alliance also said it no longer opposed international peacekeepers, if the force was set up by the United Nations, said AP, noting that Washington had promised extensive aid if the Afghan factions overcome age-old rivalries and agree to govern together - Albawaba.com
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