Anti-Taliban forces want to aid U.S.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If the United States attacks Afghanistan's ruling Taliban as part of its new war on terrorism, Afghanistan's major opposition group is volunteering to help.

The Northern Alliance -- the remnants of Afghanistan's pre-Taliban government -- controls less than 10 percent of the country, and it is reeling from the assassination of its military commander, Ahmed Shah Massoud. But Haron Amin, the Northern Alliance's representative to the United Nations, said the group can be a valuable ally against the Taliban.

"We know the terrain. We know the turf. We speak the language," Amin told CNN. "We can be of maximum use in Afghanistan. And I think that's something the international community really needs to look at, needs to capitalize on that. We can do a lot of the groundwork."

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Most countries and the United Nations still recognize the alliance as Afghanistan's rightful government. Only two countries -- Saudi Arabia and Pakistan -- recognize the Taliban. The United Arab Emirates has cut diplomatic ties.

The Taliban has controlled most of Afghanistan since 1996 and imposed a fundamentalist Islamic system on a country ravaged by a decade and a half of Soviet occupation and civil war. The movement also has provided a home for Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, who helped the Afghan resistance during the Soviet conflict -- and whom the United States has named as a chief suspect in the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

The Taliban has refused to turn bin Laden over to American authorities, raising the prospect of U.S. military action against Afghanistan.

"They have to work through us because we have fought the Soviets there," Amin said. "We fought the Pakistanis there. We fought al Qaeda there. We fought the Taliban there."

There was new fighting between Northern Alliance troops and the Taliban on Saturday north of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. Meanwhile, contacts between the United States and the alliance have increased to "frantic" levels in recent days, senior alliance officials have told CNN.

The anti-Taliban group is still reeling from the death of Massoud, far right.

The United States wants information on possible targets, including airports, weapon depots, military headquarters, training camps, troop positions and movements. One senior official told CNN that the United States has asked the Northern Alliance to work harder, telling them that the Americans need more information and they need it now.

Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, a CNN military adviser, said the Northern Alliance could keep pressure on the Taliban during any U.S. attack. "It gives the Taliban one more thing to worry about," Clark, the former NATO supreme commander, said. "Even though they're split, even though they have differences, we'd like them to take strong measures -- as much as they can do."

Amin said Massoud's assassination was likely linked to the New York and Washington attacks, which are believed to have killed more than 6,000 people.

"In the mind of Osama bin Laden, elimination of Massoud from Afghanistan -- in the event of an attack on Afghanistan by the international community -- would have created an environment that Massoud could not have used to his advantage," Amin said. "In other words, with him gone, there would not be a push on our side against the Taliban."

Haron Amin, the Northern Alliance's representative to the United Nations

Massoud, a former defense minister under the deposed government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani, was being interviewed by two Arab journalists September 9 when their television camera exploded. The blast killed a Massoud aide and the journalists; Massoud was confirmed dead five days later.

The Northern Alliance is estimated to have between 10,000 to 12,000 fighters. It has a limited number of aircraft, including some fighter jets and several Soviet-era Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters. The alliance used those helicopters to attack targets on the outskirts of Kabul on September 11.