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American Morning

Target: Terrorism: Reports of Taliban Beginning to Fray at Edges

Aired October 03, 2001 - 09:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Pakistan has a new and politically fragile ally in the war on terrorism, yet there is a growing anti- Taliban military alliance in place there.

For more, let's go to CNN's Mike Chinoy who reports from Peshawar -- Mike.

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Paula.

Well, tension here is focused increasingly on evidence that the Taliban in Afghanistan may be fraying at the edges, if not beginning to unravel all together. We're getting reports of local commanders in three key eastern provinces of Afghanistan who have either withdrawn their support from the Taliban or even begun to cut deals with the Northern Alliance. Some reports also that some of those commanders have actually been arrested by the Taliban.

Why this is so important is that the eastern part of country is inhabited primarily by the Pashtuns, the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan, and it's from the Pashtuns that the Taliban draw most of their support.

Now into this mix has come a very intriguing figure called Abdul Hook (ph). He was one of the most prominent commanders leadings the resistance to the Soviet invaders in the 1980s. He's been in exile for the past decade, and Has come back without being associated with the bad things that happened in Afghanistan in the '90s, the civil wars or the Taliban. I met him in the last day or two. He's trying to get together some of his commanders that he fought with in the 1980s and trying to organize a military push from eastern Afghanistan towards the city of Jihalbad and eventually Kabul, and thereby really increase the pressure militarily on the Taliban.

And analysts believe that he could be a key figure as the Taliban comes under increasing pressure and the efforts to topple the Taliban gains strength -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Mike Chinoy, thanks so much for that update.

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