Taliban Said Routed Near Kandahar

Day after Petraeus warned of more violence

(NEWSER) - Taliban insurgents attacked a NATO base in Afghanistan this morning in a commando-style raid that caused no allied casualties. Gunmen set off a car bomb and fired rocket-propelled grenades, attacking NATO facilities at an airport near the Pakistani border from multiple directions; several suicide bombers were killed in the attack. The raid shows the increasing sophistication of Taliban attacks and comes only a day after Gen. David Petraeus warned of an intensified "industrial strength insurgency" in Afghanistan in the coming months, BBC reports. More»

(NEWSER) - British commanders backed by US officials aim to use the success of recent offensives to persuade mid-level Taliban leaders to come in for talks and give up the fight, the Guardian reports. Conditions are right for the "second-tier" leaders who control large numbers of fighters in southern Afghanistan to reconnect with the Afghan government, say commanders. The plan has even launched talk in London and Washington of an exit strategy. More»

Maulawi Hassan responsible for numerous bombings, attacks in recent months

(NEWSER) - A top Taliban commander was killed by NATO-led forces in Afghanistan this weekend, the New York Times reports. Maulawi Hassan had been the coordinator of many suicide bombings and other attacks since fall 2008 and reported directly to Mullah Rahmatullah, a Taliban leader who directs operation from outside Afghanistan. Hassan’s death is “another serious blow” for the insurgency, a NATO representative said. More»

Kandahar is next militant target

(NEWSER) - Afghan and NATO troops launched a huge offensive against the Taliban today, Reuters reports, starting with an air and ground assault on a valley in southern Afghanistan. Bolstered with hundreds of fighters freed in last week’s prison break, the Taliban has taken several villages in Arghandab, and has its sights on nearby Kandahar city—where NATO is bolstering security in response. More»

'Asymmetrical' warfare has casualties down, hopes of prevailing up

(NEWSER) - The Taliban might hope Sunday's brazen attack on Afghan president Hamid Karzai signaled a new age of potency for the rebels. But although deaths from Taliban violence are on the rise, the Economist argues, the organization has not grown substantially—it has shifted its strategy away from conventional firefights to the “asymmetrical” warfare used by militants in Iraq and Israel. More»