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2,000 Taleban fighters defect to N Alliance: Abdullah

Over 2,000 Taleban fighters, including 40 field commanders, had joined the opposition forces, Northern Alliance Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said on Wednesday.

The alliance had also cut off the only road linking the Taleban stronghold in Mazar-e-Sharif, Abdullah told Russian State TV RTR.

Calling it a major military development, he said it would have a critical impact on the Taleban forces, especially in northern Afghanistan.

According to NTV channel, Uzbek general Rasheed Dostum's forces were attacking the provincial capital of Balkh-Mazar-e-Sharif from several directions and in some parts of the city street fighting was going on between his forces and the Taleban militia.

The Taleban were reported to be rapidly redeploying their forces from Uzbek and Tajik borders to reinforce their units in Mazar-E-Sharif and Takhar province's besieged capital Taloqan.

Another opposition warlord, Ismail Khan, the former governor of Herat, had captured Ghaur's provincial capital and positional warfare was underway in Takhar and Samangan provinces, Russian TV channels reported.

According to the Northern Alliance sources quoted by NTV, the opposition forces were withholding their offensive on Taleban positions in a bid to save themselves from the United States led attacks

PTI

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