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Kabul airport destroyed in 1st night of attacks

The first phase of United States-led attacks on Afghanistan, lasting through the night of Sunday October 7, saw four waves of targeted strikes against key Taleban installations in the country.

Targets in the Afghan cities of Kandahar, Kabul, Jalalabad, Khost and Herat were confirmed as having been struck, while reports indicate that the strategic Taleban-held town of Mazar-e-Sharif, as also Khonduz airport, were among the targets.

In the first wave of attacks, two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flew from the Whiteman air force base in Missouri, dropped satellite-guided bombs and flew on to the British base at Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean. Given that the two stealth bombers had to fly all the way from the US, the takeoff of the two Spirits effectively signalled the start of the war.

B-1 and B-52 bombers meanwhile flew out of the Diego Garcia base into Afghan airspace for another round of bombing and missile strikes. 25 fighter aircraft simultaneously flew from the USS Carl Vinson and USS Enterprise, both stationed in the Persian Gulf.

50 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from four surface ships, and 12 submarines including the USS Providence and the HMS Trafalgar, the British sub that joined the attack.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his media briefing indicated that in order to minimise civilian casualties, 'smart weapons' Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) were used in pinpoint strikes. Myers added however that conventional ordnance was also used in instances where it was not possible to pinpoint targets with such precision, conventional ordnance had also been used.

The precision-strikes were aimed at Taleban headquarters, the national defence ministry building in Kabul, radar installations and anti-aircraft gun emplacements, and terrorist camps.

The strikes were halted around dawn today (Monday October 8). Pentagon officials indicate that the US would now use satellite imaging and other high-tech devices to assess the outcome of the attack, and recalibrate targets for the next wave. Sources indicate that this could be the pattern for the next few days -- strikes by night, assessments and fine-tuning by day.

The Pentagon said it was too early to assess the outcome of the attacks. However, it is learnt that Kabul airport had been almost completely destroyed.

The Taleban command post based in Kandahar airport is also reported to have been destroyed.

Though Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the first day's attacks were not intended to target any individual, it was learnt that a former residence of Osama bin Laden was one of the targets hit by the missile strikes.

Agencies

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