Outpost Victory Moves Rebels Closer To Kabul

Rebel Taliban fighters overran a key government outpost Wednesday on the outskirts of Kabul, the Afghan capital.

The Taliban victory at the southeastern suburb of Pul-e-Charkhi brings the rebels within six miles of the city center and is a significant loss to the government.

Taliban commanders have vowed to topple President Burhanuddin Rabbani’s government and impose strict Islamic rule throughout Afghanistan.

“We are not concerned at all,” he said.

Fighting flared in other areas around the capital, and Taliban jets bombed a western suburb of Kabul. Government warplanes circled above the battlefield, dropping parachute flares to light the area while tanks rumbled through Kabul.