[Texgreen] Taliban forces nearing Kabul

[Roger Baker]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,452290,00.html

December 04, 2006

A GROWING THREAT IN AFGHANISTAN
The Taliban Gets Closer to Kabul

A report from the German military, the Bundeswehr, warns that the  
Taliban is approaching Kabul and that attacks on the capital city are  
likely to increase. Security in nearby districts is already  
deteriorating.

A snowy mountain pass in Afghanistan: The Taliban says it will focus  
its attacks a the country's biggest cities this winter, including Kabul.
AP

A snowy mountain pass in Afghanistan: The Taliban says it will focus  
its attacks a the country's biggest cities this winter, including Kabul.
The regeneration of the Taliban -- which has retaken control of parts  
of southern Afghanistan -- is no longer fresh news to anyone. But are  
the insurgent forces preparing to launch a series of attacks on the  
capital city of Kabul, which is home to peacekeeping troops, the  
Afghan government and non-government organizations that are helping  
to rebuild the war-torn country?

The leadership of Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, fear that  
Taliban attacks on the Afganistan capital of Kabul will likely  
increase in the coming months. According to a classified report on  
the state of Afghanistan obtained by SPIEGEL, "militant opposition  
forces" have made it clear that they will focus fighting during the  
winter "on the country's largest cities."

The security situation has already "visibly deteriorated" in two  
districts located just 10 kilometers from Kabul's city limits -- to  
the point that Afghan security forces don't even dare to patrol the  
streets at night. The report warned that Taliban fighters could use  
the district as "gateways" to Kabul and also as place where they  
could stage future attacks.

According to the report, Taliban fighters are smuggled into the  
districts in small "groups of up to eight men," and they often blend  
in with the population by staying in the homes of local residents for  
several days at a time.

In a separate development, NATO troops fired on civilians after a  
suicide car bomb exploded next to their convoy on Sunday. The suicide  
blast in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, killed two civilians and  
injured ten outhers, including three British soldiers. NATO spokesman  
Maj. Luke Knittig said that as the patrol was driving away from the  
scene they saw a car they feared might contain a second suicide  
bomber. At least one civilian was killed and nine were injured during  
the ensuing shooting.

dsl/spiegel/AP