KABUL (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Apprehensive Afghans began appearing on Kabul's streets soon after dawn Friday, anticipating that the United States could launch military strikes in retaliation for terror attacks in New York and Washington.
Overnight, President Bush's administration worked on building an alliance for what it called the first war of the 21st century, naming Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden -- sheltered by Afghanistan's ruling Taliban -- as a suspect. (Read photo caption below)
``In a situation like this, you feel that death is creeping up on you as we don't know when the attacks will take place. I am leaving Kabul with my family and can't wait any longer,'' said a baker.
``Throughout the night, my family and myself could not sleep properly... and the noise of any movement or cars passing gave us the feeling that either the American planes have come for bombing or rockets have been fired,'' he added.
Afghans have been following the aftermath of Tuesday's attacks in the United States, mostly by listening to foreign radio stations as television is banned. The few international phone lines have been cut for security reasons.
With Afghans marking their traditional Friday Muslim day of prayer, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that Washington had not yet concluded that bin Laden was behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
``The president and the U.S. government will decide what it intends to do by way of characterizing countries or characterizing individuals like Osama bin Laden and whether or not in our judgement they have or do not have a direct relationship to this activity, but that time has not come,'' he told CNN.
Washington is pressing neighboring Pakistan, one of just three countries to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government, to join its battle against terrorism.
The Afghan capital Kabul is no stranger to conflict after 23 years of war. Residents say they expect strikes against military targets but also fear hits on the city's airport, government buildings and other installations.
A nightly curfew began as usual at 11 p.m. Thursday but the streets were empty of traffic by 8 p.m., suggesting that people wanted to be back home with their families.
FOREIGN NATIONALS LEAVE
Foreign aid workers pulled out Thursday. The United Nations closed its offices and suspended flights, drought-ridden and impoverished Afghanistan's only international air links as a result of sanctions imposed over the presence of bin Laden.
Three Islamabad-based diplomats from Germany, Australia and the United States, plus relatives of eight foreign aid workers on trial for promoting Christianity, also returned to Pakistan.
U.S. diplomat David Donahue said the Taliban would be held responsible for the security of four Germans, two Australians and two Americans arrested six weeks with 16 Afghan colleagues on charges that could carry the death penalty.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates key health projects, says most of its foreign staff would remain.
While making clear bin Laden was a suspect, Secretary of State Colin Powell stressed the United States would root out ''terrorists,'' those behind the latest attacks and others guilty of assaults against U.S. personnel and allies in the past.
U.S. officials say the United States is asking Pakistan -- the main backer of the ruling Taliban who are otherwise only recognized by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- for military overfly rights and ``military access.''
Pakistan ruler General Pervez Musharraf has pledged cooperation, but it remains to be seen what form this will take.
``All countries must join hands in this common cause,'' he said in a statement and on national television. ``I wish to assure President Bush and the U.S. government of our fullest cooperation in the fight against terrorism.''
PAKISTAN AND THE TALIBAN
The Taliban emerged from religious schools in Pakistan's northwest in 1994, sweeping to power in Kabul two years later.
The State Department says there are credible reports Islamabad provides the Taliban with materiel, fuel, funding, technical assistance and military advisers and that it has also failed to curb the activities of religious schools.
The Taliban once more condemned the attacks that saw two hijacked commercial jets slam into New York's World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon in Washington.
The hard-line movement, under sweeping U.N. Security Council sanctions for a refusal to extradite bin Laden, said they could hand over the militant if it was proven he was guilty.
``The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has honestly asked America to give clear and substantial evidence for what it considers Osama to be responsible for,'' BBC monitoring quoted the Taliban's Radio Voice of Shariat as saying.
``And the IEA will hand him over to one of the Islamic courts of the world in order to be tried,'' it added.
The Taliban says bin Laden, who has a 5 million U.S. reward on his head for suspected involvement in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, told them he had no role in Tuesday's terror attacks.
An aide to bin Laden told media the Ben Laden said that while he had nothing to do with the attacks, they were ``punishment from Allah.''
Kabul has already come under fire this week, when anti-Taliban forces used helicopter gunships to hit the city's airport after an assassination attempt -- after which bin Laden's name also came up -- on its military commander.
Experts said that besides bin Laden -- who honed his guerrilla skills against Soviet troops in the 1980s commanding Arab fighters funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency -- few have the cash or expertise to mount such attacks.
His al-Qaeda organization operates in at least 34 countries, and he is estimated to have around 300 million in personal financial assets with which he funds his network and as many as 3,000 Islamic militant operatives, according to a report by Congressional researchers.
PHOTO CAPTION:
An Afghan Taliban radio station, monitored by the BBC, said September 13, 2001 the Taliban authorities had said they were ready to hand over Osama bin Laden to an Islamic court if the United States could prove his guilt in the terror attacks on the U.S. Exiled Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden is pictured speaking to journalists at an undisclosed place in Afghanistan in this December 23, 1998 file photo. REUTERS/Rahimullah Yousafzai
- Sep 13 4:23 PM ET