Afghan cities shook under the force of a fresh U.S. aerial bombardment today, as Washington acknowledged that special forces are operating in southern Afghanistan in support of the CIA. War Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last night that Afghans could soon expect to see U.S. ground forces in their country. Taliban officials said yesterday the death toll from the airstrikes had risen sharply as Kabul and Kandahar have come under intense bombardment. A Taliban spokesperson said between 600 and 900 people are killed or missing. Witnesses said many victims were civilians. After pounding major Afghan cities for 13 days with the biggest bombs residents of this war-ravaged country have ever known, the United States used slow-moving psychological operations aircraft yesterday to broadcast messages such as, “We do not wish to harm you,” in local dialects.