The World : Afghan Rebels Claim Gains

Afghan rebels said they captured the airport and some suburbs of the strategic eastern city of Jalalabad, and a rebel leader said he hopes his interim government will soon be able to meet in the city. Guerrilla sources said the rebel moujahedeen captured Samarkhel, about six miles southeast of the city. Sibghatullah Mojaddidi, president of the guerrilla interim government, said the rebels captured the Jalalabad airport and “are already infiltrating the city.” In Kabul, the Afghan capital, an official statement denied that Samarkhel was in rebel hands and said all districts in the Jalalabad area are under government control.