Alliance crushes Kunduz resistance

The Northern Alliance has crushed the last pocket of Taliban resistance in Kunduz. Alliance tanks and infantry swept through the centre of the city today as hardline Taliban and foreign fighters retreated to the west.

Most Taliban forces surrendered yesterday but small detachments were still engaging Alliance troops as they advanced from Khanabad in the east.

The city was reported to be in Alliance hands a few hours after dawn today with forces under the ethnic Tajik commander, General Mohammed Daoud, establishing control.

The foreign fighters, believed to be allied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organisation, were being pursued as they fled positions they had held through weeks of bombardment by coalition warplanes and Alliance artillery.

The Northern Alliance leadership said it would detain the Taliban's foreign volunteers for interrogation and possible judicial process.