U.S. Steps Up Attacks; Rumsfeld Voices Confidence

Oct. 28, 2001 -- U.S. warplanes attacked Taliban positions near the Tajikistan border in an effort to take out artillery used to disrupt a Northern Alliance supply route.

The planes struck Sunday morning and evening as the air strikes on Afghanistan entered a fourth week. They reportedly used coordinates supplied by local Northern Alliance forces, dropping about a dozen bombs to protect the supply route, which is basically a ferry that runs across the river separating Afghanistan from Tajikistan.

The Northern Alliance says the route is one of its main sources of foreign military and other assistance.

These are believed to be the first U.S. air strikes in the region. The troops that were attacked are believed to be hundreds of Arab and Uzbek fighters.

Strikes Proceeding Well; Coalition Stable

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

"It's going very much the way we expected with we began," he said 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 amid more reports of civilian casualties. Witnesses say at least 13 people were killed in Kabul.

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 on Sunday after the Taliban called for worldwide demonstrations over the weekend.

Afghan Opposition Leader Buried

Family and supporters on Sunday buried Abdul Haq, a veteran Afghan commander who was killed by the Taliban last week.

Haq was captured and executed by firing squad after crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan to try to rally opponants of the Taliban. He had received limited support from U.S. forces in the air, American officials said.

The Taliban refused to allow Haq's family to take his body for burial in Pakistan. Instead, they interred the well respected mujahedeen leader in Surkhrod, Afghanistan.

Haq's death was a sharp setback for efforts to assemble a coalition against the Taliban, U.S. and British officials admitted.

Service at Ground Zero for Victims’ Families

In other developments:

Families who lost loved ones in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center will gather at Ground Zero for a memorial service, include readings by various religious leaders and performances from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Andrea Bocelli.

One of America's staunchest allies, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

British Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said Friday that 200 Royal Marine commandos, who are trained for warfare in harsh, mountainous terrain and arctic weather, will be sent to the region. Another 400 will be on standby in Britain.

An Islamic cleric in Pakistan said 10,000 people had already answered his appeal for Muslims to join the Taliban's fight against the United States.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told a French official that he would be willing to trade information and provide police assistance to the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition. French Minister for Cooperation Charles Josselin said "exchanges of information and police cooperation are conceivable," but that Gadhafi told him Libya would not offer any military assistance.

The latest numbers of victims from the attacks on the World Trade Center, according to New York City officials are: 4,167 reported missing and 454 identified dead.