US continues strikes on Afghanistan, denies one of its planes to be downed

As Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salaam Daeef has announced the movement is holding several American citizens, the US defense department denied on Thursday downing any American plane in Afghanistan, in contrary to what have been confirmed by the Taliban movement.

The spokeswoman for the US defense department Victoria Clerk stressed that no American plane was downed during the time stated by sources in the Taliban movement.

Taliban's movement sources in Jalaal Abad city said one of the air defense batteries hit an American plane which was destroyed in Sharbolaq in Balakh district to the north of Afghanistan, 10 kilometers from Mazaar al-Sharif, the capital of the district.

Meantime, the American planes continued their raids at the Afghani areas and bombarded a village under the control of the Afghani Taliban movement behind the front lines to the north of Kabul.

News reports quoted one of the Afghani opposition leaders as saying that the US jets dropped two bombs over Star Ghreis village which is two kilometers into the areas fall under the control of the Taliban movement and this resulted in destroying artillery weapons. He added that Taliban's artillery retaliated by striking the US planes but could not hit any.

However, the American bombardment resulted in obstructing the main electricity generation station in Afghanistan and to cutting electricity supplies from the two main cities in the country.

News reports quoted the Bakhtar news agency saying that the electricity generation station in Afghanistan were exposed to bombardment and this resulted in cutting electricity supplies from Qandahar and al-Ashfar Jah cities.

The sources indicated that the American bombs inflicted great damages in Qandahar dam, the largest dam in Afghanistan and the adjoining station.