Representatives from the Northern Alliance are reporting that the first US/British raids were
highly successful and that they were unaware of any civilian casualties.

See the article at:[url]http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/2001/10/08/FFXUK4U5JSC.html[/url]

From the article:

The overnight USled military strikes launched on Taliban targets in Afghanistan were accurate and there have been no reports of civilian casualties, the Afghan opposition's main spokesman said today.

However the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan said the the assault was "huge" and several Afghan civilians died in the attack.

"The targets have been hit accurately ... in all cities," Abdullah Abdullah, spokesman for the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance told CNN.

"Up to now, there haven't been reports of civilian casualties," Abdullah said, adding that the opposition had been informed several hours in advance of the military action.

Abdullah said Taliban military bases had been hit in the Afghan capital Kabul, the Islamic militia's southern stronghold of Kandahar, as well as the cities of Jalalabad, Herat, Kunduz and MazareSharif.

"That means all around Afghanistan," he said, adding that "at least two terrorist training camps" had been destroyed near Kabul and Kandahar.

"Of course if the goal of the operation is to eradicate terrorism, that cannot be done without wiping out the Taliban," he added.

Abdullah was speaking just hours after explosions rocked Kabul and other Taliban strongholds as some 50 US and British Tomahawk cruise missiles led the way for strikes by US bombers and fighters.

Asked if the United States had informed the opposition of the military action in advance, Abdullah said: "[b]Yes. We did know ... a few hours prior to the strike[/b]."

[u]He added that the opposition had managed to get word to people in Kabul to keep away from any Taliban military installations[/u].

The Northern Alliance has said it is ready to cooperate with Washington in its campaign to hunt down Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, and his alQaeda network.

But as well as the fight against terrorism, Abdullah said the international community had to support the "final goal" of the Afghan people, which was their right to selfdetermination."

"We are ready to work with people of all ethnic groups," Abdullah said.

"The reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan will be a necessary step afterwards."

Eric The(Let'sHopeTheseFolksDoALotBetterJobThanTheyDidBeforeTheyLostOutToTaliban)Hun[>]:)]