Afghanistan: A chronology of events since 9/11

Tuesday September 11

· Two hijacked airliners smash into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. A third hijacked plane slams into the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth crashes in Pennsylvania, apparently out of control.

The world watches the horrific rapid fire sequence of horror as the WTC towers blaze, then collapse, killing thousands still trapped inside. Within hours, President George Bush addresses the nation, vowing that those responsible will be hunted down.

· The world echoes with condemnation of the suicide bombers. A discordant note is struck by Palestinians, who celebrate the disaster – though their leader, Yasser Arafat, instantly condemns the terrorists, and says he will do all he can to help hunt down those responsible.

· Tony Blair calls for a worldwide campaign against terror, declaring that Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with the American people.

· Meanwhile, the finger of suspicion instantly points to Osama bin Laden, hiding in Afghanistan.

Wednesday September 12

· The FBI detains several suspects at a Boston hotel. Five more are picked up in southern Florida.

· President Bush calls on America’s allies to join a war on terrorism.

· Nato, for the first time in its 52-year history, invokes Article 5 of its foundation charter, declaring that the atrocities were an attack on all 19 member states.

· There are fears that the paralysis of New York could drive the US economy into recession.

· Aid workers rush to leave Afghanistan, as speculation mounts about a US-led invasion.

· Amid the enormous midden of rubble which was once the World Trade Centre, rescue workers toil unceasingly. Their grim task is given urgency by the knowledge that some 250 firefighters and police officers are entombed in the wreckage. It is now feared that several hundred Britons are among the dead.

Thursday September 13

· President Bush talks of the first war of the 21st century, as he continues to rally support for a global assault on terrorism.

More details emerge of how the hijackers learned – at a US aviation school – to pilot the aircraft they turned into flying bombs.

· In Israel, the prime minister, Ariel Sharon compares Arafat with Osama bin Laden.

· In Britain, the band of the Coldstream Guards plays the US national anthem during the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham palace, by command of the Queen.

· Muslim communities and individuals in several countries, including the US, Australia and Canada, come under attack.

Friday September 14

· The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan warn they will retaliate if the country is attacked.

A three-minute silence is observed across Europe.

· During an emergency debate in the House of Commons, Labour MP George Galloway issues an impassioned warning against an all-out assault on Afghanistan, warning that such action could create “10,000 Osama bin Ladens“.

· Tony Blair talks of Britain’s obligation to help bring those responsible for the US outrages to account.

· In America, the FBI names 19 suspects, and for the first time intelligence sources make a direct link between them and Osama bin Laden.

· President Bush establishes a war cabinet of senior administration officials.

· The first cracks appear in the nascent international coalition against terrorism.

Saturday September 15

President Bush names Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect for the September 11 atrocities. He tells Americans to get ready for war.

· Tens of thousands of Afghans are fleeing the country, fearing a western invasion.

Sunday September 16

Tony Blair echoes President Bush in saying “we are at war” with terrorism.

· Pakistan abandons its support for the Taliban and sides with Washington, reportedly demanding huge economic aid in exchange for its cooperation.

· Governments around the world come under heavy pressure to bail out the stricken airline industry, which has lost an estimated $10bn (£7bn) in less than a week.

Monday September 17

· The New York Stock Exchange reopens, and share prices plummet. The US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both cut interest rates by 0.5% to head off recession.

· A high level Pakistani delegation to Taliban leaders in Kandahar demands that Osama bin Laden be handed over, but is rebuffed. Afghanistan’s ruling clique of clerics was reported to be preparing to declare a holy war against the US.

· Overseas aid minister Clare Short breaks cabinet ranks by declaring that a military operation which killed civilians would be “unbearable”. An Afghan taxi driver in London is beaten up and paralysed from the neck down.

Tuesday September 18

· The Bank of England cuts interest rates by 0.25%, but stock markets continue to slide.

· Amid conflicting reports, Taliban leaders are reported to deny that they have declared a jihad, or holy war, against America – but warn they will do so if Afghanistan is invaded.

Wednesday September 19

· The government announces stern new measures to curb money laundering to cut off terrorist funds. Tony Blair distances himself from President Bush’s bombastic declaration that he wants Osama bin Laden “dead or alive”.

· Reports from Pakistan say that Osama bin Laden has bade farewell to his followers in Kabul, and ridden off on horseback to a hideaway in the mountains.

· Washington overcomes an important hurdle in building an anti-terror coalition in the Middle East, by forcing Israel and the Palestinians to agree a ceasefire. The agreement is seen as a setback for the hawkish Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and a significant boost for the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

· The fragile truce between Israel and the Palestinians continues to hold. If it extends to 48 hours without any significant violence, the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, will reopen peace talks with Yasser Arafat.

· The Foreign Office urges Britons not to travel to Pakistan, where anti-western feelings are running high. It also advises UK nationals in the country to leave if possible.

· The US dispatches more than 100 combat and support aircraft to various bases in the Middle East and Indian ocean areas. A large naval task force is also on the way, to join what Washington calls Operation Infinite Justice.

· In the US, American investigators say they have uncovered a suspected terrorist cell in Detroit, arresting three men in a raid on a house where diagrams of airports and forged identity documents were found.

Thursday September 20

· Confused and contradictory reports from Kabul suggest that the shura, the council of Islamic clerics, have asked Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan voluntarily.

· British Airways is to axe 7,000 jobs and to ground 20 aircraft in the wake of the US terrorist attacks last week, which have caused a calamitous fall-off in ticket sales.

· There are fears of widespread airline bankruptcies, and a wider economic recession as European markets continue to plunge.

Friday September 21

· Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers continue to voice defiance in the face of a grim warning from the US president, George Bush, that the “hour is coming” for America to strike.

· The US agrees to lift sanctions imposed on Pakistan and India and to reschedule $600m (£410m) in bilateral debt with Islamabad.

· Tony Blair arrives in Brussels for an emergency EU summit on the final leg of a 9,000-mile marathon diplomatic mission that has taken him to four countries in less than 48 hours.

· It is announced that Jack Straw is to make the first visit to Iran by a British foreign secretary since the 1979 Islamic revolution in an attempt to build support for a US-led coalition against terrorism

· The Guardian reveals that the US government is pressing its European allies to agree to a military campaign to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and replace it with an interim administration under United Nations auspices.

Saturday September 22

· Anti-terrorist police continue to question three people arrested in London and Birmingham in the wake of the US atrocities. Police across Europe and the US this weekend made a number of further arrests.

· Anti-war campaigners take to the streets of London and Glasgow today to urge the UK and US governments not to launch massive military retaliation.

· In his weekly radio address to Americans, President George Bush stresses the “fundamental strength” of the US economy, but acknowledges the severe economic effect of the attacks on New York and Washington.

Sunday September 23

· In what may prove to be the first shot of the new war in Afghanistan, the country’s ruling Taliban militia claims to have downed an unmanned spy plane, and the Pentagon admits that one of its drones is missing.

· Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, defies US and European pressure and cancelled ceasefire talks with the Palestinians.

· President Bush lifts sanctions against Pakistan over the weekend as an apparent reward for its support.

· Saudi Arabia, fearful of stirring up long-suppressed internal conflicts, rejects a US request to use its air bases for an offensive against Osama bin Laden.

· Pope John Paul II, on a visit to central Asia, makes a dramatic plea to the west to pull back from the brink of a war that could pit Christianity against Islam.

· The Yankee Stadium in New York is transformed into an outdoor cathedral where thousands of bereaved mourn the loss of loved ones.

Monday September 24

· Pakistan pulls out all of its diplomatic staff from the Afghan capital of Kabul, in view of the “abnormal situation”.

· Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of Afghanistan’s hardline rulers, says that the United States must withdraw its forces from the Gulf and support the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel if it wants to remove the threat of terrorism.

· World stock markets soar as investors seek bargains after last week’s heavy selloff.

· Prime minister Tony Blair calls senior politicians from all parties to Downing Street to brief them ahead of the oncoming “war against terrorism”.

Tuesday September 25

· The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, agrees to meet the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, following a 15-minute phone call between Mr Sharon and the prime minister, Tony Blair.

· Saudi Arabia cuts all ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban government, saying Afghan leaders were defaming Islam by harbouring and supporting terrorists. A fax from Osama bin Laden to Muslims in Pakistan calls on them to resist the “new Jewish and Christian crusader campaign that is led by the Chief Crusader Bush under the banner of the cross”.

· The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, meets German leaders who seek to solidify Russian support for an international coalition.

· In Britain, the Liberal Democrats continue their truncated and muted annual conference. The Labour and Conservative party conferences are to be cut short as a result of the increasing international crisis.

· Growing fear that the terrorist attacks on the US have pushed the global economy to the brink of recession sends oil prices plunging as traders anticipate sharply reduced demand for energy in the coming months.

· The World Health Organisation urges the UK and other western governments to ensure they are ready to deal with a terrorist attack using biological weapons, such as anthrax, botulin or the smallpox virus.

· The UN world food programme resumes aid shipments into Afghanistan for the first time since the World Trade Centre bombings.

Wednesday September 26

· Nato defence ministers gather in Brussels to discuss the alliance’s role in the US-led campaign against terrorism.

· British and American defence ministers attempt to play down speculation on the nature of strikes against Afghanistan, saying any military action against terrorism would not begin with a ‘D-day landing’.

· Prime minister Tony Blair calls an emergency cabinet meeting for tomorrow night, and Downing Street says that no special significance should be read into the timing.

· Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, under heavy pressure from Washington agree a series of confidence-building measures aimed at ending a year of fighting.

· In Kabul, thousands of protesters attack the long-abandoned American embassy compound, setting vehicles ablaze and ripping down the US seal above the entrance.

· The International Monetary Fund warns that the global economy stands on the brink of its first recession in almost 10 years. A collapse in profits at Goldman Sachs, together with bad news from other Wall Street banks, triggers fears of a fresh round of job cuts in the City.

· More than half of British consumers now believe the domestic economy will deteriorate over the next year.

Thursday September 27

· Over 1,000 US airborne troops are reported to be deployed to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in preparation for a ground operation against Osama bin Laden’s bases and Taliban forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

· In Kabul the leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia warns Afghans not to look to America for help in challenging his hardline rule.

· British Airways axes 190 weekly flights, including its Heathrow to Belfast route, which will cause the loss of 160 jobs in Northern Ireland.

· Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, makes an emotional appeal to the British people to “pity the poor people of Afghanistan” as he winds up the party conference in Bournemouth.

Friday September 28

· A delegation of high-ranking Pakistani religious leaders and government officials arrives in Afghanistan for talks with the ruling Taliban militia on the fate of Osama bin Laden.

· The Commonwealth summit scheduled for next month in Brisbane, Australia, is postponed for fear that many leaders would stay at home following the attacks in the United States.

· In America, Pentagon officials say that two air force generals have been authorised to shoot down commercial airliners that appear to be threatening any city in the country.

· The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, warns that Osama bin Laden may be planning further terror attacks – possibly upon Britain.

Saturday September 29

· Independent economic forecasters warn that the chancellor may have to borrow an extra £18bn to underwrite the government’s boost to health and education spending, if the US terrorist attacks put the skids under the British economy.

· Some 8000 peace demonstrators from a loose coalition of groups march through Washington DC.

· Former vice-president Al Gore emerges from internal exile at the weekend to declare support for President Bush. To a standing ovation from Democratic party supporters, he announces: “George Bush is my commander-in-chief”.

Sunday September 30

· Osama bin Laden is being hidden at a secret location inside Afghanistan “for his safety and security”, the Taliban admits in a provocative statement.

· It emerges that the CIA offered Afghanistan’s anti-Taliban opposition leader a substantial bounty three years ago for the capture of Osama bin Laden, dead or alive.

· Tony Blair serves notice, at the start of the Labour conference, that his government will take whatever steps it deems necessary to combat the global perils of terrorism and recession.

· Security chiefs across the world make more arrests and continued to question suspects. The latest arrests came in Britain, Germany and the west African state of Mauritania.

Monday October 1

· Air force general Richard Myers today takes on the role of chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the president’s main military adviser and the post held by Colin Powell during the Gulf war, at the most critical military period for the country since the Vietnam war.

· Jordan’s King Abdullah said President George Bush had promised not to launch military strikes on Iraq as part of the retaliation for the terrorist attacks, according to reports from Amman.

· The government has frozen £60m held in over a dozen British bank accounts and believed to belong to the Taliban.

· Iran’s defence minister warns the US that it would confront any of its planes that penetrated Iranian airspace during possible strikes on Afghanistan.

Tuesday October 2

· Tony Blair promises the Labour conference that Osama bin Laden and the Taliban will be brought to account.

· Nato secretary general Lord Robertson says the alliance is satisfied that the United States has provided “clear and compelling” evidence that points “conclusively” to the involvement of Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaida network in last month’s attacks in New York and Washington.

· The SAS may be expanded as a result of a review of the structure, equipment, and strategy of Britain’s armed forces in response to the global terrorist threat. The review is announced by the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon.

· Foreign secretary Jack Straw promises that the government will use every weapon – military, diplomatic, economic and political – to defeat terrorism.

Wednesday October 3
· Lady Thatcher makes her first contribution to the debate on terrorism, criticising Muslim leaders for failing to speak out against the September 11 atrocities. Her comments immediately spark outrage.

· US war planners make their first formal approach to Nato requesting the alliance to make specific operational contributions to help in the fight against global terrorism.

The request is promptly granted.

· City watchdogs, senior police and some 75 bankers, brokers and senior financial executives hold an unprecedented meeting to discuss their roles in fighting terrorism and in preventing terrorists from cashing in on the aftermath of their atrocities.

Thursday October 4
· The humanitarian coalition is as vital as military action, Tony Blair tells MPs at the start of nearly 10 hours of mainly supportive Westminster debate.

It focuses on the impact of a strike against Osama bin Laden on the people of Afghanistan, and fears about tougher anti-terrorist legislation.

· New Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith, says he is convinced of The case against bin Laden.

· A Russian airliner explodes in mid-air over the Black Sea, killing all 78 passengers and crew. It may have been brought down accidentally by Ukrainian ground-to-air missiles fired during military exercises, American defence officials suggest, but Ukrainian officials deny responsibility.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, says it is possible that the plane had been targeted by terrorists.

· Three Israelis are killed and eight others wounded when a Palestinian disguised as an Israeli soldier goes on a shooting rampage at a bus station in northern Israel.

· Pakistan says it now believes there is conclusive evidence linking Osama bin Laden to last month’s attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

· The Taliban authorities in Kabul confirm that the British journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was arrested last Friday after illegally entering Afghanistan, is to face trial on suspicion of spying.

Friday October 5
· Tony Blair arrives in Pakistan this afternoon at the start of a lightning ” working visit” designed to shore up the single most important component of the military coalition now massing against Afghanistan.

· Israeli tanks and troops move in to Palestinian-controlled areas of Hebron in the West Bank today, killing at least five Palestinians and ending a tentative truce between the two sides

· Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban say they are prepared to put Osama bin Laden on trial in an Afghan court, but only if the US provides hard evidence against him.

· Intelligence officials tell the US Congress that they believe a second major terrorist attack on the United States is highly likely in the near future, and that once the anticipated assault on Afghanistan begins, retaliation is “100%” certain. second major terrorist attack.

Saturday October 6
· President George Bush and Tony Blair warn the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the starkest terms that preparations for the war against them are complete and attacks could be launched at any time.

Sunday October 7
· The first airstrikes are launched against Taliban targets in Afghanistan. Events move swiftly.

· Eyewitness accounts speak of an eruption of firing on the frontlines of Afghanistan’s civil war, and huge explosions in Kabul and Kandahar.

· The strikes, described by President Bush as “ carefully targeted“, hit Kabul, the Afghan capital, and the command base at the airport at Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. Air strikes are also directed at Osama bin Laden’s training camps, including those near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, and Taliban bases.

· Cruise missiles are fired from British nuclear-powered submarines, HMS Triumph and HMS Trafalgar, deployed in the Arabian sea.

· President George Bush announces the start of hostilities in a televised address to the nation. Tony Blair, in sombre mood, speaks of Britain’s role alongside America.

· A pre-recorded tape of Osama bin Laden which is broadcast after the strikes on Afghanistan, is clearly aimed at striking fear in the West. Around the world, there are fears of retaliatory attacks.

· The prime minister and home secretary both warn the public to expect British casualties in the frontline and to be on the alert for possible retaliation by Bin Laden supporters on the home front.

· Leading British aid agencies warn the launching of military attacks on Afghanistan will worsen the humanitarian crisis in the country and make the plans for air drops “virtually useless” as an aid strategy.

· The commencement of bombing in Afghanistan tonight has heightened fears for the safety of British journalist Yvonne Ridley, held by the Taliban on charges of spying.

Monday October 8
· The first reports of casualties appear after a night of repeated air attacks on Afghanistan. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency reports at least 20 killed in the capital, but the official Voice of Shariat radio says the city had suffered neither casualties nor material damage and army morale is high.

· The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, reveals that last night’s opening strikes against Afghanistan were the beginning of an attack that would last “weeks”.

· Pakistan’s military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, attempts to bring calm to his country amid growing protests over last night’s Allied attacks on Afghanistan.

· The anxious 10-day wait for the release of the British journalist Yvonne Ridley ends when her Taliban captors escort her to the Pakistan border.

· In the evening, the US launches a second series of air strikes on forces loyal to the Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden last night, as Washington gave its clearest indication yet that its war on terrorism could extend beyond Afghanistan to include more controversial targets – possibly Iraq.

· Yasser Arafat turns his guns on his own people for the first time as his police shoot dead two protesters in Gaza City to snuff out a nascent cult of Osama bin Laden.

· Violent street protests sweep through Pakistan as Islamist groups take on heavily armed police and soldiers and threaten revenge against America and Islamabad’s military regime.

· Pakistan’s military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, consolidates his grip on power by swiftly sacking two of his most senior generals, in an attempt to head off a growing revolt within the army against his pro-American policies.

· Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, is sworn in as director of the United States’ new office of homeland security.

Tuesday October 9
· The assault is renewed. Anti-aircraft guns fire on at least two planes flying over the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. At least four bombs fall near Kandahar airport.

· The United Nations confirms that four Afghan employees of a UN mine-clearing operation based near the Afghan capital, Kabul, were killed in last night’s bombing raids. A UN spokeswoman criticises the US for targeting the building.

· The United Nations Children’s Fund is trying to get its emergency relief supplies into Afghanistan via Iran because its convoys from Pakistan have been stopped. The World Food Programme has also temporarily stopped emergency food shipments.

· Pentagon officials say 85% of the fixed targets on its initial list had been destroyed, including radars, anti-aircraft batteries and a few dozen war planes hidden in bunkers. The military campaign is now thought likely to move into a new phase.

· Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network claims that it has more suicide bombers to strike at US interests around the world.

· The hardline cleric fast emerging as the leader behind a series of violent protests across Pakistan calls on his followers to incite a nationwide revolt. Three protesters are shot dead by Pakistani police as a mob rampaged through a town near the Afghan border.

· Investigators in Florida suspect that foul play is almost certainly involved in the outbreak of anthrax at a newspaper office, fuelling fears that Americans have been targeted by bio-terrorists.

Wednesday October 10
· The Taliban envoy to Pakistan denies US claims of air supremacy over Afghanistan after four days of bombing.

· President George Bush publishes a “most-wanted” list of 22 suspected terrorists and offers new rewards for their capture.

· Police fire tear gas at hundreds of Islamic students to stop them from storming Indonesia’s parliament in the capital, Jakarta, during the third consecutive day of anti-US protests in the country.

· Kate Adie plans to sue Downing Street over claims that she risked the prime minister’s life by discussing details of his visit to the Middle East, as the BBC’s head of news deepens the controversy by revealing further details of the trip.

Thursday October 11
· The Taliban invite a group of journalists into Afghanistan to visit the remote village of Karam, which they claim was hit by a stray US bomb, killing more than 200 people.

· A warning of a “very real” threat of more terrorist attacks against the US “over the next several days” is given by the FBI in a terse bulletin which put police across the country on high alert and called on Americans to be vigilant, exactly one month after the September 11 suicide hijackings.

· The US is to make a determined effort to force Israel to enter into peace negotiations with the Palestinians, fearing that the west is in danger of losing the propaganda war with Osama bin Laden.

Washington’s new initiative in the Middle East – which envisages Jerusalem as a shared capital for Israel and a new state of Palestine – threatens to transform the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, from a Bush administration ally into an unyielding obstacle. It could also threaten his national unity government.

· American troops and more than 15 US military aircraft are deployed in Pakistan for the first time, in the face of growing Islamist protests against the military strikes on Afghanistan.

Pakistan has agreed to let US forces use at least two isolated airbases but has insisted that an offensive cannot be launched from Pakistani soil.

· Afghanistan’s opposition Northern Alliance is threatening to storm Kabul and launch an offensive on all fronts in coming days, despite a US bombing strategy apparently aimed at preventing them racing to fill the power vacuum they say is being created by a crumbling Taliban regime.

· The FBI announces that it has launched a criminal investigation into the anthrax outbreak at the headquarters of a Florida-based newspaper empire after a third worker tested positive.

· The prime minister, Tony Blair, arrives in Cairo on the latest leg of his Middle East diplomatic mission after the heaviest wave of air strikes so far against Afghanistan.

Friday October 12
· Pre-dawn attacks on Kabul usher in a sixth day of raids against Afghanistan.

· Protests at the US-led strikes against Afghanistan continue, with violent clashes in Pakistan, Indonesia and Iran.

· Defence secretary Geoff Hoon hints that ground troops may not go into Afghanistan until next spring. He seeks to dampen expectations of an imminent land operation, by warning of the difficulties of campaigning during the harsh Afghan winter, now just two or three weeks away.

· A Ukrainian official admits his country’s military may have mistakenly shot down a Russian commercial airliner over the Black sea last week, killing all 78 people on board.

· Support for military action against Afghanistan has grown since the bombing campaign started with nearly three out of four Britons giving their backing, according to the first national opinion poll since the war began.

Saturday October 13
· FBI investigators have officially concluded that 11 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked the aircraft on 11 September did not know they were on a suicide mission, Whitehall intelligence sources say.

· US immigration officials are racing against time to comb through years of data in a search for up to 10 trained al-Qaida hijackers who, investigators believe, are still on the loose in America.

Sunday October 14
· President George Bush rejects as “non-negotiable” an offer by the Taliban to discuss turning over Osama bin Laden if the United States ends the bombing in Afghanistan.

· Israel undermines US and British efforts to solidify a Middle East truce yesterday by carrying out the first assassination of a Palestinian militant since the attacks on America on September 11.

· The government is criticised for not doing enough to reassure the public that it is prepared for an outbreak of anthrax in Britain.

· Panic spreads across the globe as more cases of anthrax emerge and Muslims in Britain and the US are warned not to live in skyscrapers or travel by plane.

Monday October 15
· Tony Blair gives his public backing to the creation of a Palestinian state, following a meeting at 10 Downing Street with Yasser Arafat.

· Shops and businesses across Pakistan close in a wave of protest against the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan. The closures are timed to coincide with the arrival of the US secretary of state, Colin Powell.

· On the ninth day of its bombing campaign against Afghanistan, the US strikes the airport in Kabul. Protests continue across the Muslim world.

· A dozen people in Florida, New York and Nevada have now been found either to have anthrax or to have been exposed to it.

· The chief medical officer rejects reports that the UK is unprepared for chemical or biological terrorism, claiming the government is well prepared for the possibility of an anthrax attack.

Tuesday October 16
· The rash of anthrax scares around the world spreads to northern England, as the alert is sounded by postal workers in Liverpool who saw white powder spilling from mail.

· A Kabul warehouse belonging to the International Red Cross is bombed in fierce daylight raids on Afghanistan.

· The United States and Pakistan say they have reached agreement on a political future for Afghanistan, with both sides supporting a multi-ethnic, democratically elected government rather than a simple takeover by an armed opposition group such as the Northern Alliance.

· Pakistan’s military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, says he expects moderate Taliban leaders to play a crucial role in any new administration in Afghanistan.

· It is revealed that the Pentagon has spent millions of dollars to prevent western media from seeing highly accurate civilian satellite pictures of the effects of bombing in Afghanistan.

· It is now estimated that the worldwide insurance bill for the September 11 terrorist attacks could be as high as $70bn (£50bn).

Wednesday October 17
· Nearly 30 people have now tested positive for exposure to anthrax at the Washington offices of the US Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, officials say.

· A rightwing Israeli minister, Rehavam Ze’evi, is shot dead in a Jerusalem hotel today by a Palestinian gunman, prompting fresh fears for the shaky truce between Palestinians and Israelis that was agreed only three weeks ago. Responsibility is claimed by the Syria-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

· Low-flying US jets continue attacks on Afghan cities as it emerges that the Taliban have secretly indicated the regime may consider handing over Osama bin Laden.

· Muslim protests over US-led strikes on Afghanistan, which have been occurring over the past 10 days, appear to have abated, but new protests are held in countries that had not experienced them so far.

Thursday October 18
· Clare Short, the international development secretary, provokes a furious reaction from aid agencies when she dismisses their calls for a halt to the bombing of Taliban areas of Afghanistan as unreal and “emotional”.

· The US steps up air strikes on Afghanistan, using a new array of weapons in preparation for deploying ground troops “within weeks”.

· Taliban fighters continued to defy attempts by the Northern Alliance to seize the key northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, as sources in Pakistan warn that the west has so far badly underestimated the Taliban’s military strength.

· Turkey warns Britain and the United States that support for air strikes on Afghanistan could start to unravel unless the Northern Alliance soon captures ground from the Taliban.

· Two main postal sorting offices are closed and thousands of items of mail delayed as false alerts over anthrax continued to tax the emergency services and scientists across Britain.

· A second American television news anchor appears to have been targeted in the ongoing wave of anthrax attacks. The FBI and the US Postal Service offer a $1m reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for sending anthrax through the mail.

· Israel exacts early revenge for the assassination of a cabinet minister, blowing up a wanted Palestinian militant and two other men in a car bombing barely two hours after the far-right leader was laid to rest.

Friday October 19
· A handful of US special forces are operating in southern Afghanistan, a senior US government official confirms today amid growing indications that the campaign’s “ground phase” was close to beginning.

· Violence intensifies across the West Bank, as Israeli tanks and troops move into Palestinian territory in raids aimed at thwarting revenge attacks for the killing of a local militia leader.

· Aero-engine giant Rolls-Royce announces 5,000 job losses in the wake of the US terrorist attacks. Around 3,800 jobs will be axed in the UK, with the cutback achieved by next March.

· European Union governments close ranks behind the US-led war on terrorism and pledge to work with the UN for a “stable, legitimate and representative” regime to replace the Taliban.

· Thousands of Afghan refugees swarm across the Pakistani border amid chaotic scenes, which aid agencies warn are likely to get worse.

Saturday October 20
· American special forces are involved in pitched battles inside Afghanistan after being parachuted into an area where Osama bin Laden has been a frequent visitor.

· US President George Bush warns the American people that there may be more casualties in the campaign in Afghanistan, after two US servicemen are killed in a helicopter crash.

· Pakistani security workers say that they have foiled an attempted bombing in the crowded VIP lounge of Islamabad’s international airport.

Sunday October 21
· President George Bush flies back to the US, insisting he has won “strong, steady and real support” from Asian and Pacific leaders for the war against terrorism.

· Labour’s backbench critics of the bombing of Afghanistan warn of hardening opposition to the military action, after ministers compare outspoken anti-war MPs to appeasers of the Nazis.

· Eight members of an Afghan family are killed when their house in a residential district of Kabul was blown apart in a wave of US military strikes, witnesses say.

· President Bush has formally ordered the CIA to destroy Osama bin Laden and his network and conduct “the most sweeping and lethal covert action” since the agency was founded in 1947, it is reported.

Monday October 22
· The Pentagon makes it clear for the first time that US aircraft, on the 16th day of raids in Afghanistan, are aiming to open the way for Northern Alliance opposition forces in their fight against the Taliban.

· Pakistan’s military ruler General Pervez Musharraf warns the US to stop its military campaign in Afghanistan before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in November.

· The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, stresses that the first 100 days after a Taliban collapse will be critical for the political and economic reconstruction of Afghanistan.

· Two US postal workers who handled mail at an office where a letter contaminated with anthrax was sorted have died in “highly suspicious” circumstances, it is revealed.

· Labour critics of Tony Blair’s Afghan bombing strategy launch a new political offensive to widen public debate as they demand the setting up of a special international court, including Islamic judges, to try Osama bin Laden if he can be captured alive.

· British military chiefs have agreed to deploy up to 1,000 troops, including SAS soldiers, for ground operations in Afghanistan, defence sources say.

· It is revealed that old Soviet tanks, helicopters and Kalashnikovs are being supplied in amulti-million dollar arms deal between Russia and the Northern Alliance.

· An Afghan refugee dies in Pakistan as border guards open fire on thousands of civilians trying to break into the country from their war-torn homeland.

Tuesday October 23
· US bombers attack the Afghan capital, Kabul, and hit Taliban forces dug in to the north of the city for a third straight day as the onset of winter and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan drew near.

Wednesday October 24
· US bombers kill 22 Pakistani fighters from a hardline Muslim paramilitary group in Kabul in the deadliest strike yet against an outlawed organisation linked to Osama bin Laden, a spokesman for the group says.

· Israel continues to defy US calls to pull troops out of Palestinian-controlled towns, while Israeli soldiers allegedly killing at least seven Palestinians and arresting four more in an overnight raid on a West Bank village.

· A further six employees at the Brentwood sorting office in Washington are being treated for suspected anthrax infection, it emerges.

· More than 1,000 Afghan commanders and tribal elders in Peshawar, Pakistan pledge to form a new, broader government in Kabul. Under their appointed leader, the Sufi religious figure Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani, they plead for an end to the US military strikes and promise to install the former Afghan king, Zahir Shah, as a new head of state.

· Israel observes the end of mourning rituals for a slain cabinet minister by thundering into a West Bank village with tanks and attack helicopters to hunt down his assassins, killing at least six people. The Palestinians condemn the bloody night raid as a massacre.

· Two teams of US researchers reportresults that will be a step forward to understanding how anthrax works and how it could be made harmless.

Thursday October 25
· The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, says in an interview he believes that the American-led anti-terrorist coalition may not succeed in killing or capturing Osama bin Laden.

· The military campaign in Afghanistan is more likely to lead to Osama bin Laden’s death than his appearance in an international court, Tony Blair says in an interview published today.

· The prime minister, Tony Blair, has appointed a special war envoy to northern Afghanistan, to liase with the rebel forces fighting the Taliban regime. Paul Bergne, the former UK ambassador to Tashkent, will be going into the region to “co-ordinate better” with the Northern Alliance, Downing Street announces.

· US bombers hit a bus in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar today, killing at least 10 civilians, the Taliban and residents of the southern Afghan town said.

· US health officials have struck a deal to buy 100m tablets of Cipro, the most powerful anti-anthrax antibiotic, from its creators the Bayer corporation, it emerges today.

· The official tally of those killed in the World Trade Centre attacks might have been overestimated by 2,000 people, according to the calculations of several organisations. New York city officials say 4,964 are dead or missing but none of the lists maintained by others comes near to that. One compiled by the New York Times puts the toll at about 2,950; another, by USA Today, the nation’s biggest-selling newspaper, stops at 2,680; and that maintained by the Associated Press news agency goes no further than 2,625.