Third Week of Air Strikes Begins

Oct. 21 -- U.S. warplanes struck targets today near the Afghan capital of Kabul, witnesses said, marking the beginning of the third week of air strikes designed to root out suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and defeat the hardline Taliban regime.

U.S. aircrafts attacked Taliban front line positions north of Kabul in the early evening hours, ABCNEWS sources said. Until now, U.S. attacks near Taliban front lines had been limited.

Two to four jets launched raids near an air base outside the capital and bombed targets for about a half-hour, witnesses said. One bomb struck near a Taliban base north of the city, but eyewitnesses told ABCNEWS that the Taliban had evacuated the base, moving troops and soldiers into residential areas.

Thirteen Civilian Deaths Claimed

Local authorities tell ABCNEWS that 13 civilians were killed today, including eight members of a single family.

On ABCNEWS' This Week, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he could not confirm any casualty reports, but added that the United States is doing all it can to avoid civilian casualties.

The latest air strikes came a day after U.S. special forces carried out their first ground assault of the military campaign, striking at a military complex used by Taliban leaders in southern Afghanistan.

More than 100 soldiers, including Army Rangers, completed a six-hour nighttime mission, meeting limited resistance and leaving an undetermined number of Taliban casualties, U.S. military officials said. The U.S. troops first attacked an airfield, then assaulted a compound of Taliban leader MullahMohammad Omar near the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Claiming the raid was victorious, the Pentagon said U.S. commandos gathered some intelligence from their targets. The Army Rangers also left behind pictures of New York City firefighters raising an American flag at the site of the World Trade Center with the signature "Freedom Endures."

The Taliban reportedly decided today to distribute rocket launchers, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns in towns and villages across thecountry to counter additional U.S. ground raids.