rediff.com: America's War on Terror

November 14, 2001
• Northern Alliance preparing for second phase of war: Envoy
• Pakistan backs former King Zahir Shah
• Northern Alliance captures Kandahar: Envoy
• Taleban launches attack against Mazar
• Northern Alliance vows to put Osama, Mullah Omar on trial
• There is no moderate Taleban: India
• Taleban withdraw from Jalalabad
• Rabbani to declare himself head of Afghanistan

November 13, 2001
• NA in control of Kabul; Taleban confirms fall
• Northern Alliance claims five more provinces
• Rabbani government in control of Kabul
• Taleban envoy in Pakistan leaves for Kandahar
• Musharraf for special UN force in Afghanistan
• Pakistan opposes Kabul's takeover by any one group
• Northern Alliance troops ready to enter Kabul
• Taleban officials leave embassy in Pakistan
• Shelling puts Al-Jazeera out of action
• US strikes drive Indian turban makers out of work

November 12, 2001
• Northern Alliance captures Herat
• French, German scribes die on Afghan frontlines
• Opposition makes gains in Afghanistan's northeast
• Exiled residents of Mazar-e-Sharif overjoyed

November 11, 2001
• US shoots down Pakistan demand for F-16s
• Pakistan moves nuclear weapons to secret location: Report
• US to give Apache choppers to Pakistan
• US war on Afghanistan terrorist act: Chomsky
• Osama admits role in September 11 attacks: Report
• Bush offers to bring India, Pakistan together
• Indo-UK talks to focus on post-Taleban set up

November 10, 2001
• There's no justification for terror: PM
• General Assembly focuses on terrorism, finally
• 'Our forces are inside Mazar. They are controlling the streets'
• Give us F-16s for helping you: Pak to US
• Canadian Sikh forced to remove turban
• Taleban admit fall of Mazar-e-Sharif
• Osama threatens nuclear, chemical attacks
• Bush-PM summit positive, productive: White House
• India has not intention to muddle Afghan issue: PM

November 09, 2001
• US, India to fight terrorism together: Bush
• Mazar-e-Sharif captured, says Dostum
• India-US Joint Statement Mum on Kashmir, Pakistan
• Beware of the ISI, Bhutto warns US
• Three killed in violent anti-US protests in Pakistan
• Pakistan behind Pushtoon leader's killing
• Laden planning plane attacks on Delhi: Report
• Bombing will continue during Ramadan: Blair
• 200 US abortion clinics get suspicious letters
• Musharraf warns radicals; 500 held
• Return to normal lives, but stay vigilant: Bush
• Arafat hasn't done enough to fight terrorism: US

November 08, 2001
• Pakistan braces for Friday strikes by religious parties
• `Laden has less than $50 million'
• Ban US statements too: Taleban to Pakistan
• Pakistan orders Taleban consulate to close
• France pledges debt support for 'courageous' Pakistan
• Taleban will not hand over Osama: Zaeef
• War against terror not contingent on mideast peace: Bush
• US-Pakistan ties not at India's cost: Blackwill
• Prime Minister Vajpayee arrives in Washington
• Pakistani politician to cage himself over US strikes

November 07, 2001
• NA within striking distance of Mazar-e-Sharif
• Bush's bin Laden link thwarted FBI probe: Report
• Halt war during Ramzan, Musharraf to tell Bush
• UN concerned about India-Pakistan hostility
• Ground action must supplement bombing: Vajpayee
• US to give Pakistan $73 million for border security
• Strikes intensify; more US troops on ground: Rumsfeld
• Putin offers help to rescue US soldiers in Afghanistan
• France ready to send special forces to Afghanistan

November 06, 2001
• India, Russia for pursuing campaign against terror to its logical end
• Russia wants India to be in 6 + 2 group on Afghanistan
• Pakistan muffles Taleban's only voice
• Taleban down US chopper: Report
• PM to discuss post-war Afghan scenario with Bush
• New York consulate staff test negative for anthrax
• US flirted with the Taleban for years: Washington Post
• Taleban, UN agency in war of words

November 05, 2001
• FBI arrests Nepalese man for carrying weapons at O'Hare
• Saudi Arabia fears upheaval at Mecca if US strikes continue
• Fundamentalists won't get their hands on Pak nukes: Rumsfeld
• US prepared for post-Musharraf scenario
• Pak registers sedition case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader
• Religious terrorism is the new danger: PM
• 95 US soldiers killed in Afghanistan: Taleban
• Taleban hands over US commando's body

November 04, 2001
• US jets carpet bomb Taleban frontlines
• Omar in total control: Taleban minister
• US snubs Musharraf, rejects request to halt bombing

November 03, 2001
• Muslims in J&K being persecuted: Osama
• Taleban suffer first defeat, lose key district
• French journalist freed by Taleban, arrives in Pakistan
• Borders to remain shut for refugees: Musharraf
• US formally bans Lashkar, Jaish
• India welcomes US ban on Lashkar, Jaish
• UK mulls freezing assets of more terror groups
• US to beef up forces; Rumsfeld heads to forces
• US helicopter crashes in Afghanistan; crew safe
• Noose around Osama tightening: US
• US jets keep up attacks on Kabul
• Osama bin Laden spotted in Kandahar: Report
• Taleban hang 3 supporters of Hamid Karzai: Report

November 02, 2001
• US jets resume raids on Kabul
• Washington Post building evacuated following bomb threat
• Brand Laskhar, Jaish terrorist groups: Ashcroft
• Anthrax mailed to Pakistan's Jang group
• US troops ready to enter Afghanistan: Rumsfeld
• Bush-Vajpayee meet part of coalition consultation: US
• Pak launches manhunt for Sept 11 attacks suspect
• Egos hamper efforts for alternative to Taleban

November 01, 2001
• US jet shot down, says Taleban
• No point in holding talks with Taleban: UN envoy
• US aid not enough: Pakistan
• Pakistan sending military supplies to Taleban: US officials
• Pak says fears of nukes falling in extremist' hands imaginary
• Rumsfeld to arrive in India on November 5
• Terrorists may target nuclear facilities: IAEA
• Afghanistan's biggest dam hit in US strikes
• Religious parties defy Musharraf's ban on rallies
• FBI probing Atta's visit to Pakistan
• EU to ship arms to anti-Taleban forces
• Military campaign to continue through winter: Prescott
• Pak military camp in Baluchistan attacked
• 130,000 refugees flee into Pakistan: UNHCR
• US warns Taleban of more carpet bombings
• CIA deny contact with Osama bin Laden
• Day 26 developments

October 31, 2001

As Washington warned India and Pakistan to cool off along the border, 61-year-old Kathy Nguyen who worked in a supply room at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital died of inhalation anthrax in New York. As a senior Saudi prince expressed fears that Pakistan president pervez Musharraf may be toppled, Islamabad banned the use of PA systems for jihad call.
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October 30, 2001

As the bombing continued in Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cautioned against expecting quick results in the war against terrorism. In Washington, United States President George Bush announced that he would meet his Pakistani counterpart Gen Pervez Musharraf in New York on November 10. Meanwhile, anthrax jitters gripped the Indian consulate in New York when its mailroom received an envelope containing white powder prompting the authorities to seal the room.
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October 29, 2001

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in an interview that the US was not averse to using nuclear weapons if necessary to eliminate Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. The comment sent alarm bells ringing in the Islamic world, especially in Pakistan. Taleban ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salaam Zaeef told reporters that an unspecified number of Americans had been arrested inside Afghanistan, a claim which could not be confirmed independently. American ambassador to India Robert Blackwill reiterated that the September 11 incidents had brought New Delhi and Washington closer to each other.
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October 28, 2001

18 Christians were massacred in the worst-ever attack on the nations community, when six men on three motorcycles forced their way into the St Dominic church at Bahawalpur and opened fire indiscriminately. And the Qatari television news channel Al Jazeera broadcast pictures of severed limbs among the ruins of houses in Kabul which were bombed by the US.
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October 27, 2001

Hours after the Pentagon admitted to mistakenly bombing the International Committee of Red Cross warehouses near Kabul, the United Nations said US bombs had hit one of their mine clearing facilities, killing two mine-sniffing dogs and destroying vehicles. The Northern Alliance suffered another setback when the Taleban hanged five opposition commanders. In the US, there appeared to be no let up to the anthrax scare, with the Supreme Court being closed, for the first time in 66 years, following the presence of the bacteria in the rooms of three prominent lawmakers.
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October 26, 2001

In a major blow to efforts at building an anti-Taleban coalition, the militia captured and executed a prominent resistance commander Abdul Haq, and two of his associates for trying to organise an uprising against them. US Secretary of State Colin Powell described India as a natural ally of the US and almost immediately Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf challenged US President George W Bush's forecast of a long war by calling for an early end to US strikes. Bush inked the anti-terrorism bill, which has several stringent measures relating to the information-gathering network of law enforcement agencies, and their electronic surveillance powers.
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October 25, 2001

Pakistani authorities took two top nuclear scientist into custody to probe their links with the Taleban, amidst fears that the Islamic militia might have access to radioactive material. In Karachi, more than 2000 mourners attended the funeral of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen commander Farooq, who was killed in a US raid on Kabul. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admits catching Osama might not be as easy as thought earlier. In the US, the anthrax scare hit hyperbolic levels with close to 10,000 Americans taking precautionary medicines to ward off the deadly bacteria.
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October 24, 2001

A US firm in Pakistan received an anthrax laced letter, making it the first case of bio-terrorism on any US facility outside the American soil. Opposition forces held a meeting in Peshawar, Pakistan, and agreed to back former Afghan king Zahir Shah to head the interim government in Afghanistan. The UN confirmed Taleban claims that US bombs had hit a village and a mosque.
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October 23, 2001

22 militants belonging to the Pakistan based Harkat-ul-Mujahideen were killed in US raids on Kabul. The US also attacked frontline Taleban positions, north of Kabul, apparently paving the way for the entry of Northern Alliance forces into the Afghan capital.The Taleban claimed that the US bombs had hit a mosque in Heart, killing scores.In US, Washington Mayor Anthony Williams confirmed that two postal workers died due to inhalation anthrax. China denied reports that it had paid Osama bin Laden millions of dollars to acquire two unexploded US cruise missiles, used in the 1998 attack on the renegade's hideouts.
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October 22, 2001

Nearly a 1,000 desperate Afghan refugees gatecrashed into Pakistan as the Taleban claimed that fresh US raids targeted a civilian hospital killing close to 100 persons. As President Musharraf demanded that the US end its air strikes before Ramadan, Washington said concerns over Pakistan's nuclear programme and the lack of democracy remained, despite the country's cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Musharraf also issued a warning to India not to try any 'military adventurism' against Pakistan. And following a complaint by a telecharge operator, the New York police department manhandled an Indian on suspicions of being a terrorist.
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October 21, 2001

The United States flew in nearly 2000 crack commandos to Pakistan, while President George W Bush asked the Central Intelligence Agency to go all out in its covert operation to eliminate Osama bin Laden. Taleban leader Mullah Omar's son was said to have been killed in a US air raid. And a report claimed that the United Nations had inadvertently donated over $1 million in charity to the Muwafaq Foundation, a Sudan-based front organisation of Osama bin Laden.
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October 20, 2001

The United States launched its first major ground operations in Afghanistan with at least 100 Army Rangers targeting an airbase on the outskirts of the Taleban stronghold, Kandahar. And while the taleban claimed to have downed a US helicopter killing two soldiers, the US said it was an accident. A New Jersey postal worker tested postive to anthrax, bringing the number of those affected to eight.
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October 19, 2001

US President George Bush rejected calls to halt the airstrikes to enable aid to reach Afghanistan. And as the offensive against the Taleban sparked off more fears of anthrax or other attacks, India promised $ 1 million worth of anthrax antidote to America. A geologist who specialized on Afghanistan said the background of a video address by Osama was unique to the Katawaz basin in south eastern Afghanistan, indicating that he could be hiding in the caves there. US efforts to compile a database of foreign students were speeded up.
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October 18, 2001

The war against terror seemed to be fast turning out to be a war against anthrax, with a CBS woman employee testing positive this time. Saudi Arabia warned its citizens against supporting Osama, as the Taleban said the question of handing over the world's most wanted man did not arise. Pakistan's President President Musharraf's joy over massive US and British aid packages was tempered by the fundamentalists in his country openly defying his diktat and threatening further anti-US rallies.
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October 17, 2001

As the bombing continued in Afghanistan, 31 Capitol Hill staff members reportedly tested positive for anthrax exposure. Amidst reports that US special forces had been deployed on the ground in Afghanistan, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf charged Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazal-ur Rehman with sedition for inciting violent anti-US protests. India and the US signed a mutual legal assistance pact while US Secretary of State Colin Powell assured New Delhi India that the global fight against terrorism will also target terror directed towards India.
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October 16, 2001

A stray American bomb hit the International Committee of Red Cross compound in Kabul destroying two warehouses and injuring one worker. The opposition Northern Alliance claimed its forces were just six kilometres from the strategic town of Mazar-e-Sharif, as US secretary of state Colin Powell arrived in India and declared that terrorism had to stop in Kashmir. A 7-month-old was found infected with anthrax in the US, AND reports that the Al Qaeda may have nuclear weapons sparked worldwide consternation.
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October 15, 2001

President Bush reveals that Senate majority leader Tom Daschle had received and opened a letter laced with anthrax, sending FBI sleuths into a frenzy. US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Pakistan, while Indian artillery shelled and destroyed 12 Pakistan border posts said to be gateways of infiltration of cross-border militants. And a red-faced CIA had a tough time explaining how it apparently let Mullah Omar slip away during the first day of attacks.
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October 14, 2001

Amidst reports that the Taleban leadership was 'crumbling,' US President George Bush rejected an offer by the Islamic militia to negotiate. And protests against the US strikes spread to Nigeria, where over 200 protestors were reported killed. Two deaths were also reported from Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Taleban appeared to be strengthening its ground forces by inducting 'Islamic warriors', said to include Arab and Sudanese mercenaries.
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October 13, 2001

The Al Qaeda warned America and Britain to leave Arab lands, as Washington admitted hitting civilian targets in Kabul. In Bangladesh, 15 people were killed when a bus ploughed through a procession against the US strikes in Afghanistan. And as Pakistan asked the US to reconsider the ban on several militant outfits, saying more investigations were necessary, the Lashkar-e-Tayeba declared a jihad against the US.
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October 12, 2001

Police fired tear gas at anti-US protestors in Hyderabad, while similar protests paralysed the Kashmir valley and neighbouring Pakistan. India rejected US assertion about Kashmir being world's most dangerous place, as US Secretary of State Colin Powell asked Islamabad to deny facilities to terrorists. And as the bombing continued in Afghanistan, US President George Bush and the FBI warned of more possible terror strikes.
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October 11, 2001

The US, UN and the world Bank pledged massive aid to Islamabad as a reward for joining the war against terrorism, even as thousands of Pakistanis started slipping into Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taleban. And as US jets continued to pound Afghanistan, a US sergeant accidentally crushed between two vehicles became the first American casualty of the strike. The third case of anthrax was reported from Florida, and New Delhi readied itself for the possibility of bio-chemical attacks.
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October 10, 2001

Osama bin Laden warned of attacks on American interests anywhere, and the anthrax scare spread to Montreal, with a letter suspected to contain the deadly spores being examined by the authorities. Both Musharraf and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were put on terrorist hit lists, as the Taleban said that the "satanic aid" being dropped by the US was being burnt. The OIC conde mned the continuing attacks on Afghanistan.
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October 09, 2001

As the US air raids continued, a spokesman for Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda praised the attackers who brought down the World Trade Center in New York. Four UN workers were killed in the strikes on Kabul, forcing it to stop all aid convoys headed for Afghanistan. In Pakistan, three senior hardline clerics were arrested as part of President Musharraf's crackdown on fundamentalists.
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October 08, 2001

In their first contact since the Agra summit, President Musharraf called Prime Minister Vajpayee and requested him not to heighten tensions in the region. Vajpayee replied that India had done nothing to add to the tension, whereas Pakistan was yet to take action against the perpetrators of violence in Kashmir. After removing some hardline officers, including the ISI chief, Gen Musharraf deployed the army in all major cities to quell violent protests over the second day of airstrikes on Afghanistan. The Taleban freed detained British journalist Yvonne Ridley, but warned the US of 'severe repercussions.' A Florida resident died of anthrax poisoning, while a colleague was admitted to hospital.
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October 07, 2001

The US finally launched airstrikes on Afghanistan amidst protests from radical groups in Pakistan. Hours before the strikes, President George W Bush telephoned Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and informed him that Washington had decided to ban the Jaish-e-Muhammad. The Taleban's offer to try Osama bin Laden in a Islamic court was summarily rejected by Washington.
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The Attack on US Cities