The Taliban battled yesterday to hang on to its last northern Afghan bastion of Kunduz, while confusion surrounded the location of their leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, in their southern stronghold of Kandahar.
Last night the Northern Alliance announced they were suspending attacks on the city to give the Taliban more time to surrender.
But the alliance said it would resume the assault if no agreement were reached by this afternoon, while insisting that there were strong indications that the Taliban were ready to yield.
Northern Alliance forces and US bombers had pounded Kunduz yesterday, where an estimated 15,000 Taliban soldiers and foreigners loyal to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden fought after earlier surrender talks collapsed.
The American air bombardment continued despite the pause in attacks by the ground forces.
Yesterday's attacks coincided with renewed clashes 12 km south of the capital Kabul.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Osama bin Laden continued with US-led forces scouring the Afghan mountains for terrorist.
In Eastern Afghanistan, warplanes dropped bombs on two of his former bases on the outskirts of Jalalabad, continuing raids until late last night, for the second night running. There were also reports that the bombs were targeting an al-Qaeda chemical plant.
The discovery of up to 600 bodies in Mazar-e-Sharif, taken by the Northern Alliance two weeks ago, fuelled fears of a bloodbath in the event of the Alliance capturing Kunduz.
The International Red Cross Committee said they have been talking to both the Northern Alliance and the coalition about concerns over Kunduz, specifically over the treatment of the civilian population and the proper treatment of any prisoners.
Around Kunduz, the Northern Alliance has launched a three-pronged offensive from the east.
The surrender talks collapsed with the sticking point appearing to be the fate of the thousands of Arabs, Pakistanis and Chechens who fight alongside the Afghan Taliban and are linked to bin Laden's al-Qaeda group.
Northern Alliance commanders say the foreign fighters have executed hundreds of Afghans who wanted to surrender.
Meanwhile a Taliban official in Spin Boldak near the Pakistani border, said Mullah Omar had left Kandahar for a more secure hideaway. But the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) quoted a spokesman for Mullah Omar as saying he was still in the city.
US warplanes dropped bombs on Thursday night on a training camp 700 yards from bin Laden's former home in Farmada, six miles south-west of Jalalabad.
Also bombed was another al-Qaeda base called Darunta, 10km west of Jalalabad. The bombs could be heard in the city.
The coalition fighter jets dropped three bombs near bin Laden's house apparently trying to hit small caches of anti-aircraft ammunition and artillery shells.
Locals told reporters yesterday that bin Laden, his family and about 2,000 Arab fighters were staying in the Farmada housing complex shortly before the US launched its bombing campaign against his al-Qaeda network and the Taliban.
The walled compound, with running water and electricity from a generator, had six one-bedroom apartments inside, including a workshop and what appeared to be a library.
On the diplomatic front, the United Nations conference of rival Afghan factions to discuss a post Taliban government takes place in Bonn in Germany next Tuesday, and not Monday as originally announced.
The Taliban have not been invited but major factions and ethnic groups, including a sizeable number of Pashtun, the largest ethnic group and the core of the Taliban's support, will attend.
The UN deputy representative for Afghanistan, Mr Francesc Vendrell, yesterday played down hopes for quick progress.
"I don't think we should have too high expectations that they are going to meet and immediately agree to the kind of plan we put forward at the UN Security Council," he said.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it had opened an air bridge to Afghanistan to rush food to some 274,000 "desperately hungry" people in danger of being cut off by winter.
The Labour TD, Mr Michael D. Higgins has called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, to ask the UN Security Council to intervene to prevent a massacre after the expected fall of Kunduz. He said the international community should act to prevent "a major breach of the Geneva Convention".