"Pakistan is playing a double role in the ongoing Afghan crisis. Part of the Islamabad Government is flirting with the Americans, another part, which is more important, continue to back the ruling Taleban in Afghanistan, providing them with arms, ammunitions, fuel and soldiers", Mr. Reza Deqqatti, a veteran photojournalist with years of experience in the Afghan wars told the Persian service of Radio France Internationale (RFI).

Speaking by satellite cellular phone from the Bagram airport near Kabol controlled by the Alliance forces, Mr. Deqqatti, who also covers for the prestigious "National Geography Magazine" said though the Northern Alliance forces have not received any substantial help in the form of military hardware, food, clothing, fuel or medicines, yet they keep a high moral and continue to advance on Taleban positions.

Asked about the effects of the American bombings of Taleban positions, Mr. Deqqati, who was a close friend of the late Ahmad Shah Mas’ood, observed that the Red Army bombed the mountainous nation for more than 10 years without getting any result, "the Americans are in their first month of bombing".

Afghan sources blamed the assassination of the charismatic Ahmad Shah Mas’ood, killed on 9 September by two Arab suicide terrorists posing as journalists, who detonated explosives in his office on Mr Osama Ben Laden, the prime suspect in the 11 September terrorist operations in New York and Washington D.C.

"The Northern Alliance forces have not received anything solid from the Americans. They are in dire need of clothing, medicine, food and specially weapons, but they keep a very high moral, contrary to the Taleban that are loosing strength", Mr. Deqqati noted.

He said that both the advance of the Uzbek General Abdol Rashid Dostom forces towards the strategic town of Mazar Sharif and the defection of Mollah Zaman, a senior Taleban commander had a very negative impact on the defending Taleban.

Quoting Afghan sources, Mr, Akhtar Jamal told the Washington-based EurasiaNet that at least 100 Afghan and Arab fighters have received specialised training and are prepared to launch suicide strikes to counter an expected ground offensive against the Taleban.

"The Karachi-based source who has knowledge of Taleban military planning said Osama Ben Laden's "Al-Qa’eda" network had indoctrinated and trained the suicide squad volunteers", Mr. Jamal said.

"Some security officials fear that Taleban suicide squads could launch an attack against military, government or diplomatic facilities in Pakistan. Authorities have accordingly tightened security at the embassies of the United States and other countries in the anti-terrorism coalition".

Security sources in Pakistan also suggest that Taleban and Al-Qaeda forces could target Uzbekistan and/or Tajikistan for a terrorist act. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Afghanistan's northern neighbours, are both developing into key US allies in the anti-terrorism campaign.

Pakistani news reports say radical Arab militants, including supporters of the Iranian-backed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, have made their way to Afghanistan, where they volunteering for service in the Taleban army.

Pakistani intelligence officials are on high alert to prevent any possible retaliation by Taleban or al Qaeda forces against Pakistan due to Islamabad's support for the US anti-terrorism campaign.

Intelligence agents are monitoring the movements of suspected Afghans, Arabs and North Africans. Up to three-dozen Arab and Afghan suspects, detained after recently entering Pakistan from Afghanistan, are under investigation by a joint US-Pakistani task force for any possible connection to Al-Qaeda.

According to this newspaper, the 18 body bags are now in a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan Baloochistan's capital.

"The Frontier Post" further said that the soldiers had been killed in action inside Afghanistan and not in accident.

Although, Pentagon has released details of US marines operation but has kept a lid on their causalities.

The US troops are quite actively involved in operations, particularly near Qandahar, the home base of Taleban’s supreme leader Mollah Mohammad Omar, with backing of the Pashtoon leader, Hamid Karazi, the newspaper said further.

Hamid, a former Afghan commander who backs the former Afghan King Mohammad Zaher Shah sneaked into Afghanistan two weeks ago and is meeting local leadership there to convince them to rebel against Taleban.

In an interview from his hideout with the Persian service of the BBC, Mr. Karzai said were not the fear from the Arabs and other foreign forces who fight against the Americans, many Taleban commanders would have joined the opposition forces.