The US has agreed a joint approach with Pakistan on the formation of a future Afghan government. Talks took place while some 60 US jets were attacking Taliban troops and equipment on the 10th day of the air strikes.
However there was a propaganda setback for the US when two of its missiles hit a warehouse operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross in downtown Kabul.
Rescue workers tried to put out the ensuing blaze, but at least 35 per cent of the food and other supplies were destroyed.
Fears of anthrax poisoning were rife in the US. A seven-month-old boy, the son of a television employee, became the latest victim but the World Health Organisation said people should be vigilant but must not panic.
In Afghanistan, the use for the first time by the US of the low-flying, slow-moving A-130 gunship reflected total domination of Afghan airspace and a new emphasis on direct attacks on troop concentrations.
Although the A-130 has been associated with Special Forces contingents, its use does not necessarily mean that ground troops will be involved in large numbers soon.
In Islamabad the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell agreed with Pakistan's military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, that the opposition Northern Alliance and the 87-year-old ex-King Zahir Shah would play roles in a future Afghan government. Gen Musharraf also held out a role for moderates in the Taliban.
Before flying on to India, Mr Powell told a joint press conference with Gen Musharraf: "There is no doubt that we both have a common goal, to see that the Afghan government is one that will represent all the people of Afghanistan and a regime that obviously will be friendly to all its neighbours, including Pakistan."
Gen Musharraf said they had agreed that a durable peace in Pakistan's western neighbour would be possible only through a "broad-based, multi-ethnic government" set up without outside interference.
Mr Powell said all components of ethnically and linguistically diverse Afghanistan must join talks on the country's future, including the opposition Northern Alliance and "southern tribal leaders". This was an apparent reference to the majority Pashtun - the ethnic group currently represented by the Taliban - to which many Pakistanis also belong.
Gen Musharraf said moderate elements of the Taliban militia could also be involved. "Extremism is not in every Taliban," Gen Musharraf said. "I wouldn't like to get into the details of who are moderates but we know for sure there are many moderates in the Taliban."
Pakistani officials told the New York Times that in secret talks a senior Taliban leader had appealed for a bombing pause while moderates in the Taliban government sought to persuade the supreme leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, to agree to a formula for the handover of the Saudi militant and suspected terror mastermind, Osama bin Laden.
A Taliban spokesman said raids on Monday night killed 33 civilians in Kabul, nine near Kandahar and 19 in two outlying villages close to Taliban bases. Earlier, the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, denounced the regime as "accomplished liars".
The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, said that US and the Taliban should take greater care to reduce civilian casualties in the escalating conflict.
Mr Annan's special representative for Afghanistan, Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, and his personal representative in the country, Mr Francesc Vendrell, were in New York for meetings at UN headquarters.
In Geneva, UN agencies said funding for the international aid effort for Afghanistan was not flowing despite the humanitarian emergency.