ISLAMABAD Oct 8: Afghan ambassador in Islamabad Mulla Abdul Salam Zaeef on Monday lambasted the United States and its allies for their claim of targeted strikes in Afghanistan.

“The first round of the raining Tomahawk cruise missile and bombing failed to put any serious dent to the Taliban’s fighting might, except for killing 20 innocent civilians in Kabul,” the envoy, who looked relaxed, told a news conference.

“Was it a targeted attack on military installations as claimed by the US and its agent Britain that hit no militia man but killed 20 unarmed civilians, including women and children?.”

Mulla Zaeef said the US and its allies would never get desired result and the satisfaction of a superior force from their “misadventure” and added that instead of breaking nerves of Afghans the attack had helped the nation get united in order to fight till last.

“The allied air forces had failed to hit any of our army men while we have downed their one aircraft and there were reports of another three jets to have been hit by our anti-aircraft guns”.

In reply to a question, the ambassador said the house of Taliban chief Mulla Mohammad Omar in Kabul had not been hit though the whole area where he lived had been bombed.

He said Osama bin Laden was alive but was no more in contact with the Taliban administration.

About the reported advance by the Northern Alliance forces on Kabul, Mulla Zaeef said there was no truth in these reports, adding “they have achieved nothing and will achieve nothing.”

He reminded the detractors of his government to re-read the history as the Afghan nation had always beaten back every external invasion.

He described those allying with the US as “a handful of American slaves” who, he challenged, would never be successful.

He refused to comment on Gen Pervez Musharraf’s news conference on Monday and said: “I haven’t viewed that programme at all”.

Earlier in his statement, Mulla Zaeef said the American and Britain strikes on innocent people of Afghanistan were based on injustice and violation of principles. This terrorism was not only targeted against Afghanistan but the whole Islamic world was its target.

The US, he said, had been attacking Muslims all over the world for a long time and “it has attacked us with a mindset that we are weak people but they should keep in mind that the history has never seen Afghans being enslaved by any foreign power as the Great Britain failed to subjugate it while the Soviet Union failed to keep its occupation and was pushed out”.

He said the US designs in the region would never be fulfilled. “It will never be in peace by

disturbing the peace of Afghan nation. It will have to face serious consequences which are not even in its imagination right now. The Afghans will fight the Americans and their allies with courage and bravery, and will never compromise on their religion and independence”.