AFGHANISTAN - Nov. 9 - Northern Alliance Claims To Have Seized Mazar-i-Sharif.

Northern Alliance forces under Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek commander, claim to be pursuing Taliban forces fleeing from Mazar-i-Sharif towards Kabul. Dostum spokesman in Washington Philip Smith says Dostum has left Mazar and its nearby airstrip in the hands of an Uzbek Gen. Lal Mohammad. He says more than 200 Taliban troops were dead in Mazar, while 1,500 more have defected. He credits US assistance - including arms, food and military advisers - with helping to turn the tide. (If true, the fall of Mazar would represent the first substantial defeat of Taliban forces since the US began its military campaign. Mazar is a crucial target in the campaign to overthrow the Taliban regime and destroy Al Qaida terrorist network). The Pentagon says the reports are "encouraging" but adds that the Taliban are mounting "stiff resistance" and regrouping near Mazar-i-Sharif. It also plays down reports of heavy fighting near Bagram airfield, north of Kabul. US officials have proved highly cautious about believing Northern Alliance reports after declaring three weeks ago that the rebels were just days away from seizing Mazar which controls military supply routes from Kabul to the north and the west of the country. The Afghan Islamic Press quotes Taliban sources as confirming that Northern Alliance fighters have entered Mazar but insisting that Taliban forces are regrouping to strike back.

British PM Blair says: "What we know is that there has been substantial progress in the taking of Mazar-i-Sharif. We don't know exactly what the current state of play there is. But I don't think there's any doubt at all that the military momentum is now moving against the Taliban". The UK Defence Ministry welcomes reports of Northern Alliance success, with an official saying: "If it has happened, it is clearly a good thing. It effectively moves the border between friendly and non-friendly forces significantly down the country". Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem, deputy director of operations for the Pentagon's joint chiefs of staff, says: "There's a lot of dust in the air right now. There are skirmishes happening across these various fronts... it's very hard to tell exactly what's going on". Meanwhile, Osama Bin Laden was quoted on Nov. 10 in Pakistani Dawn newspaper as saying: "I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as deterrent". The US believes Al Qaida has tried to acquire components for a nuclear weapon, but has not succeeded in developing one.