The Pentagon said Friday officials believe Mohammed Atef, a top al Qaida deputy who is related to suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden by marriage, was killed near Kabul. Atef's death has not yet been confirmed and the circumstances of his reported demise remain sketchy but the official said Atef was not killed in strikes on buildings near Kabul and Kandahar on Tuesday and Wednesday that were known to contain al Qaida leaders. Atef's daughter married one of bin Laden's sons in January, The Washington Post reported. Atef is believed to be one of bin Laden's closest aides and al Qaida's military commander. He is believed to be in charge of terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.


The Taliban militia vowed Friday to stage a comeback and recapture key areas in Afghanistan it lost to the Northern Alliance last week. "Despite present difficulties, war of the entire infidel world and opposition of some Islamic countries, our position is quite good by the grace of God," Syed Mohammad Tayyab Agha, a Taliban spokesman, said. "Sympathies of the Muslims are with us. Inshallah (God willing), we would once again demonstrate our strength and recapture the lost lands." Agha called the Taliban's withdrawal from key cities, including Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, a "tactical move," Pakistan's NNI news agency reported.


A handful of National Guard troops were deputized to help secure the perimeter of the Capitol campus Friday, patrolling in relief of Capitol Hill police, who have been working 12-hour shifts six days a week since Sept. 11. Ten military police were expected to be deployed with about 100 more joining the police next week. In the past, National Guard troops have guarded the Capitol during the 1968 riots, World War II and the Civil War.


Argenbright Security Corp., the largest airport security provider in the nation, was preparing Friday to appeal an order yanking its permit to provide checkpoint screening at Boston's Logan International Airport. Massachusetts State Police Col. John DiFava, interim security chief at Logan, Thursday night said he ordered Argenbright to leave the airport within 10 days because of recent security lapses. A state police certification unit will have a hearing Nov. 30 to determine if the company's license should be permanently revoked.


Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri hoped Friday that when the military operation in Afghanistan comes to an end, the United States, Europe and Russia will put more efforts to try solve the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Lebanese official said even before the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, Arabs had been calling on the United States to find a settlement for the Arab-Israeli conflict because leaving this problem unresolved "creates a state of instability in the Arab and Muslim worlds and helps extremism (increase)."


United Parcel Service, the globe circling delivery company, expects to deliver more than 325 million packages worldwide during this year's holiday peak season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. According to the Atlanta-based UPS, the annual surge in holiday volume is forecast to crest this year on Tuesday, Dec. 18, when the company said it anticipates delivering more than 18 million air and ground packages globally, or more than 200 every second, a 35 percent jump from the standard delivery volume.


Celebrating Thanksgiving will be a little more expensive this year than last. The American Farm Bureau Federation said this year's tab will be $35.04, up $2.67, for a traditional dinner of turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings for 10. The cost of a turkey went up 17 cents a pound to 95 cents so a 16-pound bird will run $15.13.


Profit-taking and earnings reports that did little to encourage hopes of an economic recovery took their toll on Wall Street in early afternoon trading Friday. The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average was off 16.26, or 0.16 percent, to 9,856.13 while the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index was off 5.90, or 0.31 percent, at 1,894.67.


Lleyton Hewitt could not have dreamed of a better setting to make tennis history. In front of a raucous crowd, the Australian became the youngest men's player to finish the year at No. 1 after beating childhood idol Patrick Rafter, 7-5, 6-2 on Friday at the $3.65 million Tennis Masters Cup. At 20 years and eight months, Hewitt surpassed last year's Champions Race leader Gustavo Kuerten, who lost earlier in the day to Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Kuerten finished 0-3 in the round-robin tournament, failing to add to his total of 771 points in the ATP Champions Race.

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