Mullah Mohammed Omar orders men to fight to the death
The Taliban leadership is trying to bolster support inside its southern Afghan heartland where rival tribal leaders want low-ranking Islamic militia fighters to defect.
Mullah Mohammed Omar has ordered his men to fight to the death despite the growing numbers of US and other western troops in the conflict.
"We are ready to face these Americans. We are happy that they have landed here and we will teach them a lesson," one Taliban official quoted Omar as saying in a radio message to his field commanders.
Despite his defiance, anti-Taliban leaders in the south say local Pashtun tribal chiefs are recruiting some Taliban fighters into their own ranks.
Switching loyalties during wartime has a long tradition in highly tribalized Afghanistan and residents contacted in Kandahar and elsewhere say Taliban troops appeared increasingly demoralized as casualties mount and bombing raids continue.
