Taliban: Deadly Kandahar bombings a 'warning' to NATO forces planning new offens

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Taliban: Deadly Kandahar bombings a 'warning' to NATO forces planning new

offensive in south

1 hour, 1 minute ago

By Noor Khan, The Associated Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Deadly bomb attacks in the southern Afghan city of

Kandahar were a warning to NATO's top general that the Taliban are ready for a

coming offensive in their heartland, the insurgents said Sunday.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the bombings show the insurgents are

still able to operate despite the buildup of Afghan and international troops in

the south in preparation for a push into Kandahar province.

A separate, Taliban-linked Web site called the attacks a " warning " to Gen.

Stanley McChrystal. The top NATO general has said Kandahar province is the next

target for coalition forces who recently drove the insurgents from a key

stronghold in neighbouring Helmand province.

" Gen. McChrystal has said that soon they will start their operations, and now we

have already started our operations, " Ahmadi said by telephone. " With all the

preparations they have taken, still they are not able to stop us. "

The multiple explosions - there were at least five blasts, four of them suicide

attacks - killed at least 35 people, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Kandahar provincial Gov. Tooryalai Wesa told reporters that he had asked the

central government in Kabul for more Afghan troops to protect the city in the

run-up to the expected offensive in the province, which is the spiritual

birthplace of the Taliban. He also said he wants to co-ordinate with NATO forces

to improve security.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Zemeri Bashary told reporters Sunday that the

government was considering Wesa's request for additional forces.

Residents say Taliban militants can operate with little restraint in Kandahar,

the largest city in southern Afghanistan and capital of the province that shares

its name.

" They can do what they intend and want, and the government can't control the

situation, " said Javed Ahmad, 40, of Kandahar. " We don't feel secure in the

presence of all the forces in Afghanistan, and it's terrible for us to live in

this kind of situation. We don't feel safe even at home, and we can't walk

around. "

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attacks, which hit the city's prison,

police headquarters, a wedding hall next door and other areas on roads leading

to the prison.

The main target was the prison, where investigators have found eight suicide

vests, three rockets and AK-47 ammunition, police said.

Bashary told reporters the attackers were trying to free prisoners and block

security forces from responding, " but they failed in their mission. "

The assault mirrored a 2008 suicide bombing at the Kandahar prison gates that

freed hundreds of prisoners, many of them suspected insurgents. No inmates

escaped this time from the lockup, which Canadian troops reinforced with cement

block after the 2008 attack.

Among the dead were 13 policemen and 22 civilians, including six women and three

children, the interior ministry said. Most of the casualties occurred at the

police headquarters and at the wedding celebration in a hall next door.

Another 57 people were wounded, including 17 policemen, and 42 homes were

damaged, the ministry said.

" Last night was like doomsday for all of Kandahar's people, " said Mohammad

Anwar, a 30-year-old shopkeeper, whose relative lost a son in the attacks. He

said residents blamed the United States and international forces for not

battling the militants strongly enough.

" It is difficult for us to bear this kind of situation anymore, " Anwar said. " We

don't know the aim of these people, " he said, referring to the insurgents. " Are

they trying to kill civilians or eliminate the system? The government is too

weak to control these kind of attacks. "

Kandahar city, population 800,000, was the seat of government for the Taliban

when it ruled Afghanistan, imposing its vision of Islamic theocracy for five

years before being toppled by U.S.-backed forces in 2001.

The offensive that U.S., NATO and Afghan forces are planning in Kandahar later

this year is a follow-up to the ongoing military operation in Helmand province's

Marjah district. The operation is the first test of top Afghanistan commander

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal's strategy to rout insurgents from areas, set up

new governance and rush in development aid in hopes of winning the loyalty of

the residents.

Afghan National Police forces were the first to respond to Saturday's explosions

and some Canadian troops later deployed to support them, Canadian military

spokeswoman Capt. LaRue said.

" The most important part here is to remember that ANP did a very good job and

responded quickly, " LaRue said Sunday of the police, which are traditionally one

of Afghanistan's least-trusted institutions.

U.S. and Canadian troops have been working in Kandahar to build up a

2,000-strong local police force. The training has become a priority as

international forces try to build trust in the Afghan government, which they

hope will eventually be able to take over security.

The 2,800 Canadian troops who oversee operations in Kandahar city and the

surrounding province are due to leave Afghanistan next year.

Another roadside bomb Sunday morning targeted a car carrying Pakistani

construction workers south of Kandahar in the district of Dand, according to the

governor. Four of the Pakistani workers and their Afghan driver were wounded.

-

Associated Press writers Faiez in Kabul and Heidi Vogt in Helmand province

contributed to this report.