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Taliban fires at plane over Kabul but misses©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, KABUL, Afghanistan -- An intense volley of Taliban antiaircraft fire Saturday brought thousands of Afghans into the streets of Kabul, where they craned their necks to watch a plane fly over. The plane was not hit. Taliban guns fired at the silver-colored aircraft as it flew slowly over the capital at a high altitude. The origin and type of the plane were unknown. After a few minutes, the plane disappeared from sight and the firing stopped. Numbed to gunfire and explosions after more than 20 years of conflict, residents of the Afghan capital went about their business, shopping and strolling under a cloudless sky. Afghan gunners have fired antiaircraft bursts in recent days in what Taliban authorities said were drills. However, the intensity of the gunfire Saturday was much heavier, and the plane was clearly visible. On Sept. 22, the Taliban claimed it had shot down an unmanned U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the Tashgurgan Pass in Afghanistan's northern Samangan province. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged a day later that the United States had lost contact with an unmanned drone but had no reason to believe it had been shot down.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
