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NATO, Afghan troops move against Taliban
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-18 19:29 The Taliban have long sought to control Arghandab and the good fighting positions its pomegranate and grape groves offer. With control cemented, militants could cross the countryside's flat plains for probing attacks into Kandahar, in possible preparation for an assault on their former spiritual home. Haji Agha Lalai, a provincial council member and the head of the province's reconciliation commission - which brings former insurgents who lay down their weapons back into the folds of society - said the militants were destroying bridges and planting mines as defensive measures in hopes they can repel attacks from Afghan and NATO forces. "From a strategic military point of view, Arghandab is a very good place for the Taliban," Lalai said. "Arghandab is close to Kandahar city, allowing the Taliban to launch ambushes and attacks more easily than any other place in the province. Secondly, it's covered with trees and gardens. They can easily hide from air strikes." The Taliban assault on the outskirts of Kandahar was the latest display of strength by the militants despite a record number of US and NATO troops in the country. The push into Arghandab came three days after a coordinated Taliban attack on Kandahar's prison that freed 400 insurgent fighters. The hardline Taliban regime ousted from power in a 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan regarded Kandahar as its main stronghold, and its insurgent supporters are most active in the volatile south of the country. |
