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02-24-2007, 09:11 AM
Taliban promises `bloodiest' year yet
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Senior Afghan insurgent makes threat as Britain decides to send more troops
Feb 24, 2007 04:30 AM
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan–Rearmed with new guns, the Taliban yesterday vowed this would be the deadliest year for foreign soldiers in Afghanistan since the Islamists were toppled in 2001.
"This year will prove to be the bloodiest for the foreign troops. It is not just a threat, we will prove it," senior commander Mullah Dadullah told Reuters by satellite phone.
"The Taliban's war preparations are going on in caves and in mountains. Our 6,000 fighters are ready for attacks on foreign troops after the change in weather and as it becomes warmer."
His comments came as Britain approved a plan to send a wave of extra troops to Afghanistan to repel an expected spring offensive by the Taliban. Media reports said 1,000 more soldiers would be sent to join the more than 5,000 British troops already in Afghanistan.
British Defence Minister Des Browne confirmed the deployment last night, but not the specific numbers. Browne said the British government made the decision to boost its forces after a meeting last week of NATO defence ministers in Spain at which the alliance urged countries to send more troops.
Britain's 5,000 soldiers in Afghanistan are concentrated in the southern part of the country – a former Taliban stronghold where the government wields little power. In all, NATO has about 35,000 troops – including 2,500 Canadians – in and around Afghanistan.
Taliban leaders say they expect to be able to field 10,000 soldiers, with a big increase in suicide fighters after conventional pitched battles brought heavy losses for the rebels last year.
With winter snows melting, fighting has already picked up dramatically in recent weeks.
Canadian troops were involved in a firefight yesterday morning west of Kandahar. A joint patrol involving members of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment battle group and the Afghan National Army fought 10 to 15 Taliban fighters in the village of Hawz-e Madad.
Several militants were killed, an army spokesperson said, but there were no Canadian or Afghan troop casualties.
Dadullah said the extra weapons the Taliban was being supplied – he did not say from where – included the ability to bring down NATO and U.S. helicopters crucial to operations in this mountainous country.
NATO and the United States are also promising spring offensives in what they and analysts regard as a pivotal year in a country still in crisis more than five years after the Taliban's fall. More than 4,000 people, a quarter of them civilians, died in fighting last year.
But several European nations have resisted pressure to send more units to Afghanistan, especially to the south and east. In particular, the reluctance of France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Turkey to provide more combat troops has caused frustration among nations on the front lines, including Canada.
NATO's secretary general yesterday tried to assure Canadians they are not bearing the burden alone in Afghanistan.
"It is a collective effort," Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters in Kandahar. "It is not the Canadians by themselves or the Dutch, the Danes or the Brits and the Americans."
Other countries patrolling outside the volatile southern region still face the threat of roadside bombs, and many contribute to support operations such as combat flights, he said.
In Kabul, more than 30,000 people rallied yesterday in a former Taliban execution ground to support an all-embracing amnesty for war criminals, including parliament members and government officials. The Afghan parliament insists amnesty for those guilty in almost 30 years of war is needed for peace and reconciliation. Rights groups say punishment is essential for peace and to allow the country to move on.
FROM THE STAR'S WIRE SERVICES
Email story
Choose text size
Report typo or correction
Email the author Tag and save
Senior Afghan insurgent makes threat as Britain decides to send more troops
Feb 24, 2007 04:30 AM
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan–Rearmed with new guns, the Taliban yesterday vowed this would be the deadliest year for foreign soldiers in Afghanistan since the Islamists were toppled in 2001.
"This year will prove to be the bloodiest for the foreign troops. It is not just a threat, we will prove it," senior commander Mullah Dadullah told Reuters by satellite phone.
"The Taliban's war preparations are going on in caves and in mountains. Our 6,000 fighters are ready for attacks on foreign troops after the change in weather and as it becomes warmer."
His comments came as Britain approved a plan to send a wave of extra troops to Afghanistan to repel an expected spring offensive by the Taliban. Media reports said 1,000 more soldiers would be sent to join the more than 5,000 British troops already in Afghanistan.
British Defence Minister Des Browne confirmed the deployment last night, but not the specific numbers. Browne said the British government made the decision to boost its forces after a meeting last week of NATO defence ministers in Spain at which the alliance urged countries to send more troops.
Britain's 5,000 soldiers in Afghanistan are concentrated in the southern part of the country – a former Taliban stronghold where the government wields little power. In all, NATO has about 35,000 troops – including 2,500 Canadians – in and around Afghanistan.
Taliban leaders say they expect to be able to field 10,000 soldiers, with a big increase in suicide fighters after conventional pitched battles brought heavy losses for the rebels last year.
With winter snows melting, fighting has already picked up dramatically in recent weeks.
Canadian troops were involved in a firefight yesterday morning west of Kandahar. A joint patrol involving members of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment battle group and the Afghan National Army fought 10 to 15 Taliban fighters in the village of Hawz-e Madad.
Several militants were killed, an army spokesperson said, but there were no Canadian or Afghan troop casualties.
Dadullah said the extra weapons the Taliban was being supplied – he did not say from where – included the ability to bring down NATO and U.S. helicopters crucial to operations in this mountainous country.
NATO and the United States are also promising spring offensives in what they and analysts regard as a pivotal year in a country still in crisis more than five years after the Taliban's fall. More than 4,000 people, a quarter of them civilians, died in fighting last year.
But several European nations have resisted pressure to send more units to Afghanistan, especially to the south and east. In particular, the reluctance of France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Turkey to provide more combat troops has caused frustration among nations on the front lines, including Canada.
NATO's secretary general yesterday tried to assure Canadians they are not bearing the burden alone in Afghanistan.
"It is a collective effort," Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters in Kandahar. "It is not the Canadians by themselves or the Dutch, the Danes or the Brits and the Americans."
Other countries patrolling outside the volatile southern region still face the threat of roadside bombs, and many contribute to support operations such as combat flights, he said.
In Kabul, more than 30,000 people rallied yesterday in a former Taliban execution ground to support an all-embracing amnesty for war criminals, including parliament members and government officials. The Afghan parliament insists amnesty for those guilty in almost 30 years of war is needed for peace and reconciliation. Rights groups say punishment is essential for peace and to allow the country to move on.
FROM THE STAR'S WIRE SERVICES