| Thousands of Taliban fighters laid down their weapons and surrendered to Northern Alliance forces, bringing to an end organized armed resistance in northern Afghanistan. Some 3,000 Taliban fighters, who had been holed up in the village of Char Dara since the alliance victory over Kunduz handed over their firearms and heavy weapons to troops loyal to Northern Alliance general Abdurrashid Dostum. The prisoners, mainly foreign mercenaries and Pashtuns from southern Afghanistan, then boarded trucks bound for Dostum's stronghold in Mazar-e-Sharif. |