JABAL-US-SARAJ, Oct 30: Uniformed US soldiers were in northern Afghanistan to help coordinate American airstrikes and attacks by opposition forces on the Taliban, an opposition spokesman said on Tuesday.

It was the first time the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance had confirmed the presence of armed and uniformed American troops in the less than 10 per cent of Afghanistan it controls.

A Taliban official lent credence to the opposition claim by saying that some 500 American and allied military personnel were working with the Northern Alliance.

“According to our information so far 500 Americans and their allies have reached opposition areas including professional soldiers and experts on technical affairs and training,” said Taliban military intelligence chief Qari Ahmadullah in an interview with the AIP news agency.

“The majority of these people are in Faizabad, in the centre of Badakhshan province,” he told the agency from the northeastern Afghan province of Takhar, neighbouring Badakhshan.

Opposition forces said they were in high-level talks with US officials outside Afghanistan about strengthening military cooperation.

The talks come amid speculation that the United States is gearing up to send ground forces, and even set up a military base inside Afghanistan.

“There are serious talks going on as we speak about such coordination,” opposition spokesman Abdullah Abdullah said.

US aircraft, now in the fourth week of a campaign to topple the Kabul government, bombed Taliban frontlines in the north and also struck their stronghold of Kandahar in the south, witnesses said.

Opposition commander Rellozai, watching the bombardment from his frontline base north of Kabul, said the Taliban probably sustained casualties when missiles hit the heavily manned position of Pulibarikab. He said he saw around 30 missiles fall in total.

Another opposition spokesman Mohammad Ashraf Nadeem said up to 20 US soldiers were in opposition areas.

“Following the launch of the allied operation, between 15 and 20 Americans came to Dara-i-Suf to coordinate attacks against the Taliban.

“They have their own base there and are equipped with guns and other means of defence and wear uniforms,” he said.

Local commanders asked US soldiers on Monday to intensify airstrikes against Taliban frontlines.

“Right now it seems that they have done so because for the past several hours planes have been bombing Sholgara and Kishindi districts to the south and southwest of Mazar-i-Sharif,” he said.

The front is near Mazar-i-Sharif, a prize that stands astride supply routes to Kabul and has an airfield.—AFP