QUETTA, Dec 3: Despite the sealing of the border with Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan refugees are pouring into Chaman due to heavy bombing in and around Kandahar, the remaining stronghold of Taliban.

The US warplanes including B-52 continued heavy bombing on Monday resulting in killing of over 20 people and injuring many.

The Taliban sources conforming the bombing have denied reports that the governor of Kandahar, Mulla Hasan Rahmani, had been killed in the airstrikes.

“Mullah Hasan is very much alive and present in Kandahar,” Mehmood Ahmed Mutwakil told this correspondent by telephone, adding that the US planes were targeting the civilians area in main Kandahar.

Meanwhile, the opposition Pakhtoon tribal forces claimed that they had captured one tower of Kandahar airport after heavy fighting with the Taliban forces. A spokesman of former Governor of Kandahar, Khalid Pakhtoon, said that soon tribal opposition forces would take control of the airport. However, he said Arab fighters were resisting very strongly. He said over two dozen Taliban and Arabs were killed in the fighting.

The Taliban sources denied the tribal forces claims and said that these forces could not advance from Takhta Pul area because of Taliban’s attacks on their positions.

Refugees coming from different areas of Kandahar say that US warplanes started bombing from early hours on Monday and continued till afternoon.

They told newsmen at Chaman that a large number of innocent people had been killed in the bombing.