October 13, 2001	Saturday	Rajab 25, 1422

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PESHAWAR, Oct 12: Seven Afghans, including three females, were brought here Friday morning after they received injuries during US bombing of Kabul and Jalalabad.

The US warplanes have been bombing civilians and a number of houses had demolished in Jalalabad during Wednesday night strikes, said one of the injured eyewitnesses.

Five of the injured, including the females, have been undergoing medical treatment at Hayatabad Medical Complex whereas the remaining two are at a private hospital, Naseer Teaching Hospital.

The injured are identified as: Fareeda, daughter of Nabi of Kabul, Mehrun Nisa, daughter of Said Rehmat of Kabul, Hussan Bano of Jalalabad, Abdus Saboor, Fazalur Rehman and Dastagir of Jalalabad and Mullah Qatoor of Kabul.

Officials at HMC are tight-lipped about the presence of the injured in the hospital and not allowing newsmen access to them.

The injured were brought from Pakistan-Afghan border at Torkham, 56km west of here, in an ambulance of Edhi Welfare Trust.

Of the two injured at Naseer Hospital, Fazalur Rehman, 45, is a truck driver, whereas Qathoor, 35, had been fighting from Taliban’s side against the Northern Alliance forces.

They claimed that the Taliban militia had left the cities and taken positions on hills and mountains. “Now the Americans have been bombing civilians,” they maintained.

Mr Rehman told newsmen that he used to stay in Karachi, but some of his relatives were in Afghanistan. Few days back, he went to Jalalabad to meet his relatives.

On Wednesday night, he said, he was asleep after playing cards, when he was awakened by a big explosion. He thought that a cruise missile had landed nearby.

Rehman claimed that all of a sudden another missile fell on their residence, which collapsed, resulting in injuries to his family members.

Various houses, he claimed, were damaged there after the US bombing following which dozens of people were admitted to the Jalalabad hospital.

“As I used to live in Pakistan, I preferred returning back here to get treatment,” he added. He was not sure about the exact number of casualties, saying they might run into dozens.

Qatoor said that he belonged to Odhkhel area in Kabul. “In the past, I received injuries while fighting against the Northern Alliance forces after which I remained in hospital,” he added.

“Recently,” he said, “I was discharged from the hospital and was taking rest at home when the trouble began. A number of his relatives, he added, had shifted to Pakistan, but he remained in Afghanistan. Three days back, he claimed, his residence collapsed during severe bombing by the US planes.

Mr Rehman claimed that he was an opponent of the Taliban in the past due to their oppressive policies, but after the US targeting of innocent civilians, he now hated the US.

Both the injured, with their arms wrapped in bandages, claimed that the already devastated cities of Kabul and Jalalabad had further been turned into ruins.