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Northern Alliance launches
3-pronged attack on Kunduz

K J M Varma in Islamabad

Britain on Friday rejected Pakistan's demand for surrender of Taleban fighters to an international force, even as the United States-backed Northern Alliance launched a three-pronged attack on the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.

Several Taleban fighters holed up in their northern bastion were reportedly shaving off their beards and trying to flee in order to escape the wrath of the Northern Alliance.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf raised the surrender issue with visiting British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who said the Taleban fighters would have to surrender to the Northern Alliance.

"Our position is very straightforward. If the people are ready to surrender...then the surrender should be accepted."

Supported by US bombings, the attack above Khanabad, 20 km east of Kunduz, began on Thursday night with coalition forces chasing the holed-up militia fighters from the hills.

Besides Khanabad, fighting was also raging on another two fronts -- Pul-e-Bangi and Dasht-e-Arachi -- the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press reported.

The Northern Alliance claimed that as its troops pushed forward, around 600 Taleban fighters surrendered in Khanabad area.

The Alliance had claimed on Thursday that most of the estimated 3,000 to 9,000 Taleban fighters trapped in Kunduz had offered to lay down arms. But this was denied by the militia.

PTI

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