PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's quickly go to Matthew Chance, who is standing by in northern Afghanistan, where, the time last we checked in with you, you said the Northern Alliance troops have been told to maintain their defensive positions and not move towards Kabul. Has anything changed?</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not so far, Paula, no. They have still got that order enforced that they have got to maintain their defensive positions. Their political leadership is saying that they are not going to be allowed to move forward into any more areas that are controlled by the Taliban. They are saying, though, that it could be a new opportunity for them. these latest U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan throughout the course of today. We have been seeing some significant artillery exchanges across the two sides, and a lot of heavy machine gun fire too. That order is still in place even though the Taliban have taken some serious hits overnight.</s>ZAHN: Matthew Chance, thanks so much for that report. We will be going back to Matthew throughout the day. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
America Strikes Back: Northern Alliance Holds Positions