Residents Brace for Possible U.S. Retaliation

Frightened Afghans braced for possible U.S. retaliation for the terror attacks, with Arab residents fleeing the capital, Kabul, and others digging trenches on its outskirts.

U.S. investigators have pointed to Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden as the man behind the attacks. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia has given him sanctuary.

Although it was not immediately clear how many Arab nationals live in Afghanistan, residents said almost all had left central Kabul.

Afghan Arabs--a term encompassing virtually all non-Afghan Islamic militants regardless of origin--also reportedly evacuated their bases elsewhere in the country.

Militants from the Middle East, the Philippines, Central Asia and China have long used Afghanistan as a training base.