Fierce fighting erupted yesterday around the Taliban's last stronghold in northern Afghanistan as confusion reigned over whether or not they were ready to surrender the besieged city of Kunduz.
Meanwhile, concerns about respect for human rights by the Northern Alliance were raised again yesterday by the discovery of up to 600 bodies in Mazar-e-Sharif following the alliance victory there.
Further south near the capital Kabul, there was also heavy fighting between Northern Alliance and Taliban forces, and renewed US bombing in the area.
The latest offensive came as 11th hour talks continued aimed at securing a Taliban surrender of Kunduz, and the hunt for Osama bin Laden continued.
Three bombs were dropped late last night in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Flashes could be seen and the force of the bombing shook buildings in the city, including the Spinghar hotel, where the media are staying.
It was unclear what the target was, but there was speculation it was aimed at Taliban units still believed to be in the area.
The Tora Bora mountain range, one of the two areas that bin Laden is suspected to be hiding out, is 40 kilometres from Jalalabad.
While it was reported that the Northern Alliance secured the surrender of local Taliban in Kunduz foreign fighters, including Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis were reported to be refusing to lay down their arms. There were conflicting reports, with Taliban spokesmen denying that any deal had been struck, while some Northern Alliance sources claimed they were still in talks with Taliban officials and were optimistic that agreement could be reached.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said yesterday that between 400 and 600 bodies had been found in the northern Afghan town of Mazar-e-Sharif following its capture by the opposition Northern Alliance. ICRC spokeswoman Ms Macarena Aguilar could not say whether the dead had been executed or were killed in the fighting that preceded the fall of the town on November 9th. Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday ordered the Taliban to close their embassy in Islamabad, their last remaining diplomatic mission.