US bombers launched new strikes on Taliban frontline positions in the north of Afghanistan today, a day after the Pentagon confirmed it was using B-52 aircraft to carpet-bomb Taliban forces.
The jets targeted the villages of Qalai Nasro and Qalai Gulai where hundreds of Taliban fighters are based.
The strikes were reported by fighters with the opposition Northern Alliance, which has been urging more attacks on the front line to boost its chances of a breakthrough on the ground.
Bombs also severely damaged Afghanistan's biggest dam and power station, cutting electricity to two major cities, a Taliban minister was quoted as saying by Afghan Islamic Press.
The Kajaki hydro-electric power station in Helmand province was bombed yesterday afternoon and electricity supplies to the cities of Kandahar and Lashkarga have been completely halted, he said.
"So far water has not started gushing out of the dam but any further bombing will destroy the dam. It may cause widespread flooding, putting at risk the lives of thousands of people," Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban education minister, was quoted as saying.
AP/