Gazing skyward, he listens: one, two, three minutes. The aircraft patrols the skies over Kabul, then leaves. This time, no bombs fall on the city. Many times, they do.
Still pacing, the Taliban soldier puts a radio to his ear but hears only a crackling sound; the Taliban’s Radio Shariat goes off the air before sunset. He fiddles with the dial.
In the beleaguered nation–under attack by a U.S.-led coalition waging a war against suspected terrorists headquartered here–the only window to the outside world is the radio. There is no television in Afghanistan; the Taliban has banned it.
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Not that it would operate now anyway. It’s 9 p.m., and the Taliban has turned off the electricity throughout the capital to make it harder for American attackers to find targets.
Streets are deserted, silent. Dogs begin to howl and bark. Candles are lit. Dinner, usually eaten late, is now done by 8.
Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, has been hit by almost nightly raids, though in recent days most bombs have been falling on front lines north of the city. There, Taliban soldiers face off against the Northern Alliance.
The U.S.-led coalition believes the strongest frontline positions are held by Arabs loyal to suspected terrorist leader Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network–and by Pakistanis who side with the Taliban. On Tuesday, 22 Pakistani militants were killed in Kabul–reportedly when a bomb hit the house where they were meeting.
Now: another jet. This one appears to be patrolling the city, perhaps trying to engage anti-aircraft guns on the ground. From Taliban positions comes an occasional boom, but they seem to be using their anti-aircraft weapons sparingly.
Again, silence, for a while. And again, another roar, another jet–loud this time.
Windows rattle. Six powerful explosions shatter the night.
Behind the hill of Wazir Akbar Khan, a northern part of the city, smoke rises. The bombs have pounded what could be Taliban anti-aircraft positions.
It’s unclear, though, and it’s not as if one can go out to check. In Kabul, authorities have imposed a nighttime curfew and enforce it strictly. Since the air strikes began Oct. 7, it takes effect at 8:30 p.m.
The Taliban responds to the latest bombing raids with a few rounds of anti-aircraft fire–again, just a few.
Barely 30 minutes later, another jet streaks overhead. Two bombs drop–near Kabul’s airport, it seems. The concussion is loud, the impact near. The Taliban responds with anti-aircraft fire, and loud salvos come from the guns.
But the jet is too high to be hit. It roars off into the night, and Kabul is quiet once again.