Fresh strikes hit Afghanistan

By ANDREW BUNCOMBE and PAUL WAUGH

WASHINGTON/LONDON - A second wave of airborne attacks against Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan’s Taleban regime was launched about 3.30 am today (NZT), as US President George Bush promised he would "bring evildoers to justice" despite signs of growing anger in parts of the Islamic world.

Almost precisely 24 hours after the first strikes were launched by the US and Britain, the crackle of anti-aircraft fire over the Afghan capital, Kabul, signalled the second attack was underway.

The US indicated yesterday it may expand strikes to targets outside of Afghanistan, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested for the first time yesterday that the war against international terrorism would be widened to include Iraq and other rogue states once the operation against Osama bin Laden and the Taleban was completed.

"We are in this for the long haul. Even when al-Qa’ida is dealt with, the job is not over. The network of international terrorism is not confined to it" he told the House of Commons.

But even as the explosions reverberated over Kabul and the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar, the Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, convened a meeting of clerics which declared a holy war in response to the attacks.

The US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, confirmed a second wave of missiles and bombs had been launched by US 20 warplanes and ships in the Arabian Sea.

No British missiles were fired in this morning’s raids unlike Monday morning's attacks.

There were further humanitarian airdrops by the US airforce.

"We believe we’ve made progress towards eliminating the air defence sites. We believe we’ve made an impact on military airfields. We cannot yet state with certainty we have destroyed dozens of command and control and other military targets, "Mr Rumsfeld said.

The defence secretary accompanied by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, said this morning’s targets were once again communications and military assets.

He said that Monday morning’s strikes had been carried out without the loss of any US or British warplanes, contrary to Taleban claims.

He also denied reports from the Taleban that there had been widespread civilian casualties. The Taleban said that more than 20 civilians had been killed.

In London, Mr Blair in an emergency statement to the Commons - recalled for the third time since the September 11 attacks - warned that the terrorists would attack Britain if they were not stopped now.

It would be "foolish" he said, not to anticipate an attack and all defences had been reviewed to thwart any reprisals.

"We know that if not stopped, the terrorists will do it again, possibly in Britain. So this is military action we are undertaking is not for a just cause alone, although this cause is just," he said.

The Prime Minister announced that an early assessment of the first wave of strikes had shown they had been successful in "destroying and degrading" al-Qa’eda terror facilities as well as Taleban military appartus that protects them.

Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, said 30 targets had been hit during Monday morning’s operation.

President Bush has asked the American people for their patience, warning them that the operation that had been launched to "bring the evildoers to justice" would be not be short.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for Tom Ridge, director of the newly created Office for Homeland Security, Mr Bush said: "On all efforts, on all fronts, we’re going to be ongoing and relentless as we tighten the net of justice. This will be a long war. It requires the understanding and patience from the American people."

-

INDEPENDENT