Surveillance pictures show Afghan attack damage

The US Defense Department has revealed pictures showing successful air strikes on military and suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan.

Officials say that US aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles hit 81 percent of 31 targets during the first two days of attacks, which begun on Sunday.

However, the claims were made on the same day it was revealed that a misdirected missile killed four UN workers near Kabul on Tuesday, the second night of strikes.

The cruise missile hit a building belonging to the Afghan Technical Consultancy (ATC), the largest agency responsible for clearing mines left by Russian troops. The missiles are thought to have been aiming for a radio communications mast 50 metres away.

Airfield damage

The selected images are taken from military satellites or reconnaissance aircraft. One shows a military airfield in Shindand, West Afghanistan where the runway has been precisely targeted by the strikes.

Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US had achieved “air supremacy” above Afghanistan. Warplanes are now free to scour the area for terrorist targets and Taliban infrastructure and supply planes free to drop food and other supplies to refugees, he said.

Another picture reveals a suspected terrorist camp in Garmabak Ghar before and after missile strikes. All major buildings have been destroyed.

US military officials claim that satellite guided missiles achieve on average a 90 percent rate of accuracy. Some experts suggest that this figure may be substantially lower when targeting smaller targets such as tents or tanks.

The Taliban has made claims that civilian parts of Kabul have been hit by US missiles, along with a small village 20 miles to the north.