PrintJune 14, 2008
Taliban Attack Frees 1200 Prisoners
In a bold attack, the Taliban killed 15 guards at a prison in Kandahar and freed 1200 prisoners including about 350 Taliban fighters, suicide bombers, and leaders:
"It is very dangerous for security. They are the most experienced killers and they all managed to escape," he said by telephone from Kandahar.A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said that the attack was carried out by 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers, and that they had freed about 400 Taliban members, The Associated Press reported.The breakout from Sarposa Prison will present enormous security challenges for Afghan and NATO forces surrounding Kandahar, President Karzai's home city but also the spiritual capital of the Taliban. Traditionally, Kandahar is home to the rulers of Afghanistan, and control of it is seen as critical to the government's hold on the entire country.The city has been in a precarious situation since Taliban forces massed in the nearby district of Panjwai in 2006. Since then Canadian forces have struggled to secure the area, and the Taliban have repeatedly sought to gain a foothold in the districts surrounding the town.
The Canucks have fought maginificently but have been unable to make permanent gains because NATO refuses to give them enough troops. This is the heart of the insurgency in Kandahar and every time Canadian troops sweep through a clear out an outlying area, the Taliban move back in because the Afghan army is still too weak to hold the gains made by the Canucks.
NATO better watch out. Canadian PM Stephen Harper has threatened to yank the entire Canadian combat contingent unless more help is forthcoming from NATO. This raid sort of proves his point, doesn't it?
