One was a driver for an Israeli bus company, another the son of a Gaza millionaire.Extreme right-wing disciples of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane gathered near the scene of the bombing, chanting “Arabs out!” and “Death to the Arabs!”Their hostility to the peace process was echoed by Jewish shopkeepers. “It’s time we finished all this,” said Yeheskel Abu-Zwilli, who has run a photo shop in Jaffa Road for 45 years. “Arafat’s people should start thinking about what George Bush said of him, that he’s a liar who can’t be trusted.”. US special forces hurled grenades through the windows of a burning hospital to finish off a nine-hour assault against al-Qaida gunmen who had been holed up there nearly two months and vowed never to be captured alive. A string of explosions was heard, followed by pop–pops of pistol shots and a shrieks of automatic weapons fire.Beforehand, Afghan soldiers had told each other on walkie–talkies that two of the gunmen inside were still alive following the morning’s initial assault, and that three were dead.Wounded and ill, the gunmen, at least some of whom were believed to be Arabs, had barricaded themselves inside the Mir Wais Hospital for nearly two months.

They were trapped by the rapid collapse of the Taliban regime last year during the US–led military campaign.The men had vowed to kill themselves rather than be captured and medical staff had feared they would wreak enormous violence if attempts were made to take them.The rest of the building was evacuated and hospital administrators ordered food and water cut off two weeks ago, but it was believed that sympathetic staff may have been feeding them. They were also believed to have had stockpiles of food and water in place.Deciding to end the siege, Afghan authorities asked for US help, said Maj. AC Roper, spokesman at the US military base at Kandahar airport.A surrender ultimatum was issued about 3:40 a.m. Monday (2210 GMT Sunday), Afghan sources said on condition of anonymity. It was rejected and troops stormed the walled compound.”The Arabs saw them, and they started firing,” said Najabullah, an Afghan commander, briefing Kandahar government officials. He said the men had hurled grenades at the attacking troops.A fire broke out and black smoke poured from the building. US sharpshooters eventually took positions on the ledges of the second storey, where the gunmen were holed up.Before the raid, there were believed to be about five or six gunmen still in the hospital from an original 10 or so.On Jan.

8, one fighter leaped out of a second–story window in an escape attempt, then blew himself up with a grenade as Afghan security personnel surrounded him. Two other men were said to have successfully escaped earlier, but that was never confirmed.In December, two gunmen were captured when soldiers used the only doctor the men trusted to trick them He called them into another room, guaranteeing their safety. They were apparently promised safe passage to neighboring Pakistan. When they separated themselves from their comrades, they were overpowered and captured.The captured pair were handed over to US forces, who have set up a military base at the Kandahar airport. They were both Chinese, presumably militant Uighurs demanding independence for their Muslim–dominated northwestern province of China.Thousands of Islamic extremists from many countries went to Afghanistan to join the cause of jihad, or holy war, which was supported by the Taliban regime that ruled the country. Many were affiliated with bin Laden’s al–Qaida network, blamed for the Sept 11 attacks in America..

The Zimbabwe government has made a last-minute concession to the European Union by agreeing to allow EU observers to monitor the presidential election in an attempt to avert the imposition of immediate sanctions at a foreign ministers’ meeting today. The ministers are expected to call for limited sanctions after a set period, if President Robert Mugabe fails to guarantee a free and fair election.The spokesman added: “The time has come to put Mugabe on the spot.”The European Commission said yesterday that Zimbabwe had agreed to invite monitors from most EU countries except Britain, and admit journalists from international organisations apart from the BBC.Under the latest pledge, observers from Europe and a group of developing countries will be invited to monitor the elections, to be held on 9-10 March. Candidates will be nominated on Thursday.Talks have been continuing during the two weeks since Stan Mudenge, the Zimbabwean Foreign Minister, failed to provide details on how his government would guarantee a free and fair election. But officials say that a meeting last Wednesday led to more positive discussions of issues such as the date when observers’ visas would be issued, what access they would have to all political parties and how security would be guaranteed.Amid scepticism about the value of Mr Mugabe’s promises, the ministers are expected to increase the pressure with a threat of focused sanctions, such as a visa ban on Zimbabwean leaders and a freeze on their assets abroad if, after a specified period, Mr Mugabe fails to comply. Britain remains determined to maintain pressure on Harare over the catalogue of human rights abuses.At a meeting of Commonwealth ministers on Wednesday, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, will also call for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the 54-nation organisation at a summit in March, to be held only days before the elections.But, with less than six weeks to go to the poll, the Government has taken heed of warnings that immediate sanctions may be counter-productive. A Whitehall source said: “We believe it is important to put maximum pressure on Zimbabwe while there is still time to get observers in before the presidential elections.”The fear is that immediate sanctions would end all prospects of Mr Mugabe permitting foreign observers to monitor the elections. That, in turn, would deter opposition voters from turning out, and make vote-rigging easier.Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, urged the EU to take a tough line at the Brussels meeting unless Mr Mugabe moved immediately to ensure a free and fair presidential election..