Taliban vows to step up attacks

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar vowed Monday to step up attacks against US forces in the near future, Pakistani and Afghan news sources reported.

Omar -- whose exact whereabouts are unknown -- said "the Taliban attacks in Afghanistan will further intensify in this new year, which will force Americans to leave Afghanistan very soon."

The elusive Taliban leader also said that the United States was "the biggest enemy of Islam."

Earlier in the day Monday, Taliban leaders rejected calls from Afghan President Hamid Karzai for peace talks with the government.