Taliban forces have been told to fight to the death after Northern Alliance forces reportedly entered Kandahar.
The alliance claims its forces have entered the Taliban's last stronghold and says there has been fighting on the eastern outskirts of the city. But Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar has again urged his followers to "fight until the death".
Alliance deputy defence minister Bismillah Khan said he did not expect the city to fall quickly. He said his forces have "entered into Kandahar," and later reported battles on the city's edge.
Khan was speaking from Kabul and says his information is based on radio communications with his commanders at the scene.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem said he could not confirm the report. He said alliance troops might be in the province of Kandahar, which covers a large area of southern Afghanistan.
"There have in fact been opposition groups, some of which are from the north, that have been around the Kandahar province - to the north of the Kandahar province," he said.
"I can accept that they have entered the province," he said, adding he had not seen any reports that opposition groups had managed to get inside the city.
Residents of Kandahar could not be contacted by telephone to verify Khan's claim. Western journalists are not allowed in Kandahar.
Earlier it was reported tribal fighters were moving towards the stronghold of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar today, negotiating with his militia commanders to surrender.
Forces loyal to Gul Agha, a former mujahideen governor of the southern city of Kandahar that is the seat of power of Mullah Omar, were moving forward carefully to minimise loss of life. A spokesman dismissed reports that 160 Taliban had been executed.
PA