KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Hundreds of Taliban fighters invaded villages just outside Afghanistan’s second-largest city Monday, forcing NATO and Afghan troops to rush in while frightened residents fled.
The Taliban assault on the outskirts of Kandahar is the latest display of prowess by the militants despite a record number of U.S. and NATO troops in the country.
The push into the Arghandab district — a lush region filled with grape and pomegranate groves that the Soviet army could never conquer — comes three days after a Taliban attack on Kandahar’s prison that freed 400 insurgent fighters.
Those fighters, NATO conceded Monday, appear to be massing on the doorstep of the Taliban’s former power base. The city of Kandahar lies only 10 miles to the southeast.
The sophisticated and successful jailbreak, followed by the movement into Arghandab, is the latest evidence of the Taliban’s growing strength. The U.S. and NATO have pleaded for more troops in the past year and now have 65,000 in the country. But the militants are still finding successes the international alliance can’t counter.
“Three days ago, inside of a 30-minute operation, the Taliban freed hundreds of prisoners, and NATO, the Canadians, the Americans, didn’t do anything,” said Mohammad Asif, 30, of Kandahar. “Now more than 500 Taliban are living in Arghandab. They are occupying the region.”
“The Taliban told us to leave. They are planting mines everywhere,” said Shafiq Khan, who was moving his wife, seven children and brother out of Arghandab in a small truck late Monday.
NATO spokesman Mark Laity said NATO and Afghan military officials were redeploying troops to the region to “meet any potential threats.”
“It’s fair to say that the jailbreak has put a lot of people (militants) into circulation who weren’t there before, and so obviously you’re going to respond to that potential threat,” he said.
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