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More heavy bombing in Afghanistan

Afghan capital under 'intense' bombardment

Smoke rises from a Red Cross compound near Kabul that the agency said was hit by U.S. bombing Tuesday.

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghanistan's capital underwent another heavy round of U.S.-led attacks late Tuesday and early Wednesday, following two days of the most intense strikes of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The latest attacks on Kabul began around 10:45 p.m. (2:15 p.m. EDT) and more strikes followed two hours later, sources told CNN. The airport was hit yet again, sources said, and explosions went off within the city -- some of them so loud they could be heard 30 miles outside the capital.

In Washington, the Pentagon said more than 2,000 missiles and bombs have been used in the past 1 1/2 weeks to pound key Taliban strongholds and al Qaeda targets, and they are taking a toll on the regime.

More than 100 aircraft attacked Afghanistan on Monday, said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold.

The U.S.-led campaign is doing its best "to convince the Taliban leadership that they have made an error, and their calculus some day will be that it's in their best interest to cede," said Newbold. "Yesterday was a particularly heavy day. ...Today is another intense day."

About 90 aircraft in Monday's campaign flew from four aircraft carriers in the region, while other land-based bombers participated, he said. Included in the attacks Tuesday was a U.S. special operations AC-130 Spectre gunship, which for the second day pounded troop concentrations on the ground. (Full story)

On Monday, the AC-130 aimed its firepower at a barracks or troop garrison in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. CNN sources said the airstrikes appeared to be taking a considerable toll on the city. (Full story)

In Kabul, Red Cross officials told CNN a bomb hit a warehouse belonging to the international relief agency. They said one person was injured.

On the diplomatic front, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was in India, where he met with the country's foreign minister Tuesday night. Powell planned more meetings with Indian officials Wednesday in an effort to smooth tensions with neighboring Pakistan.

Earlier, after talks with Powell, Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, pledged indefinite support to the U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan despite strong opposition from within his country. (Full story)

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Latest developments

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• Federal Aviation Administration investigators plan to review records at every U.S. airport -- beginning with the 20 busiest -- to ensure that airport security screeners received proper background checks before being hired. (Full story)

• Recognizing Pakistan's support of the U.S. war on terror, the House Tuesday passed a bill that would waive economic and military sanctions imposed on the nation two years ago to punish Pakistani military leaders for their coup against the elected government. The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this month and has White House support, would waive sanctions in 2002. President Bush has already promised aid and waived other sanctions against Pakistan imposed after its 1998 nuclear weapons tests.

• The Bush administration also is urging Congress to waive long-standing sanctions against Azerbaijan as a reward for its participation in the anti-terrorism war. The country, which shares a border with Iran, has given the United States overflight rights, the use of its airbases and has cooperated with the nation in the past, Powell said in a letter Monday.

• Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev told CNN the anthrax cases indicate that terrorists are trying to destabilize America. Speaking on "Larry King Live" on Monday, Gorbachev said: "Certainly, the fact that anthrax has appeared must be another attempt by terrorists to impact the situation and to destabilize the country and to start panic." (Full story)

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