The momentum of the military campaign in Afghanistan is now firmly with the attacking allies, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today.
Mr Blair, speaking at a meeting of Labour's National Policy Forum at the party's headquarters at Millbank, Westminster, said he believed the success of the opposition Northern Alliance in seizing the strategic city of Mazar-e-Sharif was a key point in the conflict.
He said: "I think it is clear that the momentum is obviously with the international coalition, the Northern Alliance having taken Mazar-e-Sharif and now with the possibility of securing the northern part of Afghanistan."
But Mr Blair stressed that the coalition still had much work to do in several fields before the campaign would be concluded successfully.
"We have got to work on the other aspects, the military campaign, the political campaign and of course, what is happening on the humanitarian side to make sure that we bring this to a successful conclusion."
PA