Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan smashed through the Taliban front lines north of Kabul last night and their tanks pushed to within 6 km of the capital.
Tanks and infantry broke through front-line positions already decimated by a day of furious artillery and aerial bombardment.
"We are some 6 km from Kabul," said the Northern Alliance Foreign Minister, Dr Abdullah Abdullah. "We stopped because we did not want to move into Kabul."
Late last night there were reports that the Taliban leadership and military units were fleeing the capital, despite assurances by the alliance that their troops would not enter the city.
"I'm quite sure about the Taliban evacuation of Kabul," said Dr Abdullah. "First it was reported the evacuation of Taliban leaders and high officials. Later we received news of troop withdrawals as well."
He said the alliance - under strong US pressure - would probably not send its troops into the capital, but expected the Taliban to move out.
"We are about to see an end to the suffering of our people under terrorism," said Dr Abdullah. "We are about to see the city liberated sooner rather than later." This attack crowns three frantic days that have seen Alliance troops turn the strategic situation in Afghanistan on its head.
Almost unnoticed last night was news that yet another city - the ancient Persian city of Herat near the Iranian border, had also fallen to the alliance.
Yesterday's day-long battle around Rabat was fierce. B-52s dropped bombs on front-line trenches. The Taliban responded with heavy artillery, sniper shootings, machine-gun fire and mortar. But, after a fire-fight lasting approximately half an hour, the tanks surged through the front-line positions.
The advance then went fast, with the tanks finding that the expected second line of defence did not exist - the Taliban troops had fled.
As darkness fell on the front line, one alliance commander drove up in a pick-up truck, shouting to passing soldiers that the truck had been found abandoned in Taliban positions.
Earlier in the day there had been a massive bombardment by guns, mortars and rockets of the Northern Alliance, supported by US air strikes.
The impacts hit a 30 km front stretching the width of the Shamali plain which lies in front of Kabul.
One commander waiting on the Salang Highway with his men, part of the Zarbati or "shock" brigade, held his radio above his head so his men could hear, and broadcast at top volume the sounds of panic among the Taliban. He had tuned into a Taliban frequency. The sound of frenzied jabbering voices came crackling out.
The handful of Captain Mohammed's soldiers who could understand Pashtun - most speak Dari - nodded solemnly. "They are frightened," said the captain.
"Those guys have lost their morale. They are asking, 'please, what are our orders, what should we do?'"
A wounded man appeared. Mr Mohammed Orif (36) was brought out of the first-aid post near Bagram airport by an American radio journalist - the Afghans had no ambulance. He was lucky - the splinter from the Taliban rocket that slammed into the airport earlier in the day only cut the edge of his ankle, which is now heavily bandaged.
"When I am well, I am going back into the line, no problem," he said with a smile. "Look at my finger. I got another wound a month ago. I am not frightened."