One day before the August 1998 capture of Mazar , bin Laden affiliates bombed two US embassies in Africa , killing 224 and wounding 4,500 , mostly Africans . The US responded by launching cruise missiles on suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan , killing over 20 though failing to kill bin Laden or even many Al-Qaeda . Mullah Omar condemned the missile attack and American President Bill Clinton . Saudi Arabia expelled the Taliban envoy in protest over the refusal to turn over bin Laden , and after Mullah Omar allegedly insulted the Saudi royal family . In mid-October the UN Security Council voted unanimously to ban commercial aircraft flights to and from Afghanistan , and freeze its bank accounts worldwide
bombed two US embassies
1998 United States embassy bombings
Taliban