U.S. Steps Up Attacks; Rumsfeld Voices Confidence

Oct. 28 -- U.S. military strikes in Afghanistan are proceeding well and the international anti-terror coalition remains stable, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

"It's going very much the way we expected with we began," he said this morning on ABCNEWS' This Week, as government officials dampen expectations for a quick victory, while still voicing confidence in the military operations.

"The progress has been measurable," he said. "We feel the air campaign has been effective."

The defense chief said that allied forces were getting better targeting information in recent days to help identify new bombing targets.

Rumsfeld moved to reassure the public that the military effort could overcome recent apparent setbacks in its campaign to topple Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and bring accused terror mastermind Osama bin Laden to justice.

He emphasized, however, that the war would not likely be over soon, as early hopes fade that airstrikes would quickly cripple the Taliban and cause mass defections.

Key opposition Afghan leader — Abdul Haq — was captured and killed, and there have been new reports of errant U.S. bombs killing civilians.

More Heavy Bombing

U.S. warplanes continued to pound the Afghan capital of Kabul and other cities today, amid more reports of civilian casualties. Witnesses say at least 13 people were killed in Kabul. Witnesses and wire reports said that U.S. bombs were responsible, but there was no official comment from the Pentagon.

In another report, American forces accidentally bombed a village controlled by the Northern Alliance, killing at least two people and injuring 10.

Meanwhile, Northern Alliance fighters facing off with the Taliban have voiced frustration with the U.S. campaign, complaining that the United States has not helped them sufficiently.

In Pakistan, a key U.S. ally and neighbor of Afghanistan, thousands of protestors took to the streets today, after the Taliban called for worldwide demonstrations this weekend.