PESHAWAR, Oct 7: Panic-stricken people ran for cover, as the United States and Britain launched their long-anticipated strikes on Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad, firing missiles and bombing strategic installations in the Taliban controlled areas on Sunday night.

“I overheard planes, then suddenly there were two big explosions, heavy explosions and we ran for cover. We are scared,” Jan Agha, a resident of Kabul, told Dawn by telephone.

“The city is under regular nightly curfew but it looks like they have hit the Kabul airport,” he said, and added that the explosions which occurred at around 9.20pm (Afghan time) were followed by frenzied firing of anti-aircraft guns by the Taliban. “This went on for about one hour.” Jan Agha said.

“The lights went out and returned after the firing was over after an hour-and-a-half. It appears that the Taliban had blacked out the city to blind the enemy planes,” he said.

A report from Jalalabad said that planes bombed the airport. The report said planes also hit a suspected terrorist training camp close to Naghlu hydel power dam near Jalalabad. The Taliban, however, denied the camp had been hit. They claimed that there had been no damage to the airport or no casualties.

Sources from inside Afghanistan said that missiles targeted the Kandahar airport and hit Osama bin Laden’s house and offices situated inside the Afghan Airforce Officers Colony in the airport. “There has been not much damage,” a Taliban official in Kandahar said.