DOHA, Nov 13: Qatar’s al-Jazeera television said on Tuesday US warplanes bombed its offices in Kabul hours before Northern Alliance forces entered the Afghan capital.

The satellite station, which has angered some in Washington by broadcasting pre-taped speeches by Osama bin Laden denouncing the United States, said no one was hurt in the bombing.

It said it had lost contact with its Kabul correspondent, Tayseer Allouni, and other staff in the city after the attack.

An official at the station said Jazeera had previously asked Allouni to leave Kabul for safety reasons if Afghan opposition forces entered the city.

He said their correspondent in Kandahar, Youssef al-Shouli, has also been asked to leave.

Jazeera has said there was concern about Northern Alliance reprisals against Arabs. Opposition leader Ahmad Shah Massoud was reportedly killed by assassins posing as Arab journalists.

“U.S. planes attacked the Al Jazeera office in the Afghan capital Kabul at night,” Jazeera said in a broadcast. It said the extent of the damage was not yet known.

The official said the circumstances of the attack were not clear.

U.S. warplanes have hit a number of civilian targets, including International Committee of the Red Cross warehouses, since it began bombing Afghanistan early last month to flush out bin Laden and his followers.

Jazeera shot to fame after it broadcast pre-taped statements by Osama bin Laden on Oct 7, the day the US strikes began.

The United States has complained to the Qatari government about the channel, hoping it would soften its coverage.

Qatar’s outspoken Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said such a demand would be rejected.—Reuters