Taleban to offer truce plan

The flood of refugees into Pakistan continues

The Taleban are to propose a new ceasefire plan to end the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan.

After returning from consultations in the Taleban stronghold of Kandahar, Taleban envoy Abdul Salam Zaeef told reporters in the Pakistani border town of Quetta that he would discuss the plan with Pakistani officials before giving details.

I have brought a plan with me...I will discuss it with Pakistani officials and disclose it afterwards

Abdul Salam Zaeef
Taleban ambassador

The diplomatic move - said to be approved by Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar - came as the United States confirmed that a small number of US special forces are operating on the ground in southern Afghanistan.

A Pentagon official, who asked not be identified, said the operation was at a very early stage, but he indicated that more troops would follow to pursue the war against Osama Bin Laden and his Taleban protectors.

A Taleban official responded by saying their forces were ready and would relish the opportunity to avenge the past 12 days of air raids.

While it is not known what the ceasefire proposals are, ambassador Zaeef said the Taleban would not hand over Osama Bin Laden - a key demand by Washington.

The BBC's Susannah Price in Islamabad says some observers believe the Taleban are trying to be flexible, while others see their moves as a way to buy time.

In other developments:

• A Bin Laden aide, Egyptian Abu Baseer al-Masri, dies in a Jalalabad hospital after a grenade that he was holding exploded
• President Bush and his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin, meeting in Shanghai, agree on the need to work together to combat international terrorism
• Iran agrees to allow refugee camps to be set up in "no-man's land" on its border with Afghanistan, after the Taleban authorities refused to allow such facilities on the Afghan side of the border
• UNHCR officials say some 3,500 Afghans have poured over the border at Chaman into Pakistan, the biggest movement since strikes began
• British-based charity, Christian Aid, says hundreds of people have died of starvation in Afghanistan recently - and thousands more could perish this winter as a result of the bombing campaign

Air strikes on the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the city of Kandahar have continued during daylight hours on the Muslim day of prayer - in contrast to last Friday, when the United States said it was making no planned raids on Afghanistan.

Click here for a map of Afghanistan's battle lines

US planes flying over Afghanistan have been broadcasting messages in local dialects warning people to stay off bridges and roads.

A commander for the opposition Northern Alliance says that eight US personnel are working with him near the strategic town of Mazar-e-Sharif, but there has been no confirmation from Washington.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing on Thursday evening that intelligence reports suggested that air raids in recent days had inflicted more damage than earlier attacks, leaving Bin Laden's forces vulnerable.

"We have seen some movement of what we believe to be the al-Qaeda forces - and they have been specifically targeted while they were moving," Mr Rumsfeld said.

US special forces seen here in training for possible action

At least six civilians - including five members of one family - were killed in the capital Kabul during bombing on Thursday.

A senior Taleban spokesman, Abdul Hai Mutmaen, said on Thursday that between 600 and 900 people had been killed or were missing as a result of 12 days of US-led strikes on Afghanistan. The US admits some bombs have gone astray but says the Taleban's figure is far too high.

Aid agencies' appeal

For the first time, Mr Rumsfeld has spoken of helping to arm the Northern Alliance.

"They're going to have some help in food, they're going to have some help in ammunition, they're going to have some help in air support and assistance," he said.

A group of six international aid agencies has called for a pause in the air strikes to allow food supplies to be delivered before Afghanistan's severe winter sets in.

But the US denied on Thursday that its bombing was hampering the aid delivery, accusing the Taleban of disrupting its delivery.

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