Taliban cut road northeast of Afghan capital
(Updates with defence minister comments)
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL, April 18 (Reuters) - Taliban fighters have cut off a road to the northeast of the Afghan capital and government forces were preparing on Wednesday to drive them out of the area, a provincial governor said.
The Taliban on Tuesday attacked police posts and a government headquarters in Tagab district of Kapisa province, 70 km (40 miles) from Kabul, in the heaviest fighting so close to the capital since U.S.-led troops defeated the Taliban in 2001.
"The Taliban have cut off the road. Both sides are aligning their forces for more fighting," Kapisa's provincial governor, Abdul Sattar Murad, told Reuters.
Murad said up to 300 Taliban were involved in the attacks to the north of the town of Sarobi, and about 50 km (30 miles) southeast of the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan at Bagram.
"We will use every means to drive them out," he said. U.S. aircraft had supported Afghan forces on Tuesday but there had been no U.S. air support on Wednesday, he said.
A U.S. military spokesman said Afghan forces had been involved in fighting in the area but said he had no information about U.S. involvement.
"We're keeping a close eye on reports from U.S. forces in the area," the spokesman said.
Violence in Afghanistan surged last year to its worst level since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
Fighting eased over the winter, as it traditionally does in Afghanistan, but attacks have been picking up over recent weeks.
Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said the Taliban were well equipped, better trained and better funded than when they were toppled in 2001 because of outside support.
He did not name any country, but the Afghan government has long complained Taliban leaders operate and live in Pakistan and use it as a sanctuary for attacking Afghanistan.
Pakistan concedes militants do operate from its territory but says it does not support the Taliban.
"The reason for the deterioration of the situation largely has been because our enemies have been more active and have received enough training, have had their funding and equipping improved," Wardak told reporters after meeting visiting NATO ambassadors from Brussels.
He said this year was a critical time in terms of security.
The Taliban have been vowing to launch a spring offensive backed by thousands of suicide bombers.
The fighting in Kapisa went on for about eight hours on Tuesday but died down as darkness fell. But the Taliban were still dug in in a valley and had seized a section of the road to Kapisa's provincial capital, Murad said.
NATO and U.S.-led forces have been mounting sweeps in the south over recent months to thwart the threatened Taliban spring offensive, but apart from an occasional clash, Kapisa had been peaceful.
Separately, Taliban guerrillas captured a government headquarters in Qarabagh district in Ghazni province, to the southwest of Kabul, on Tuesday night, travellers from the province said.
Taliban occasionally attack and hold government positions briefly and then withdraw when Afghan and foreign troops arrive to drive them out.
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL, April 18 (Reuters) - Taliban fighters have cut off a road to the northeast of the Afghan capital and government forces were preparing on Wednesday to drive them out of the area, a provincial governor said.
The Taliban on Tuesday attacked police posts and a government headquarters in Tagab district of Kapisa province, 70 km (40 miles) from Kabul, in the heaviest fighting so close to the capital since U.S.-led troops defeated the Taliban in 2001.
"The Taliban have cut off the road. Both sides are aligning their forces for more fighting," Kapisa's provincial governor, Abdul Sattar Murad, told Reuters.
Murad said up to 300 Taliban were involved in the attacks to the north of the town of Sarobi, and about 50 km (30 miles) southeast of the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan at Bagram.
"We will use every means to drive them out," he said. U.S. aircraft had supported Afghan forces on Tuesday but there had been no U.S. air support on Wednesday, he said.
A U.S. military spokesman said Afghan forces had been involved in fighting in the area but said he had no information about U.S. involvement.
"We're keeping a close eye on reports from U.S. forces in the area," the spokesman said.
Violence in Afghanistan surged last year to its worst level since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
Fighting eased over the winter, as it traditionally does in Afghanistan, but attacks have been picking up over recent weeks.
Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said the Taliban were well equipped, better trained and better funded than when they were toppled in 2001 because of outside support.
He did not name any country, but the Afghan government has long complained Taliban leaders operate and live in Pakistan and use it as a sanctuary for attacking Afghanistan.
Pakistan concedes militants do operate from its territory but says it does not support the Taliban.
"The reason for the deterioration of the situation largely has been because our enemies have been more active and have received enough training, have had their funding and equipping improved," Wardak told reporters after meeting visiting NATO ambassadors from Brussels.
He said this year was a critical time in terms of security.
The Taliban have been vowing to launch a spring offensive backed by thousands of suicide bombers.
The fighting in Kapisa went on for about eight hours on Tuesday but died down as darkness fell. But the Taliban were still dug in in a valley and had seized a section of the road to Kapisa's provincial capital, Murad said.
NATO and U.S.-led forces have been mounting sweeps in the south over recent months to thwart the threatened Taliban spring offensive, but apart from an occasional clash, Kapisa had been peaceful.
Separately, Taliban guerrillas captured a government headquarters in Qarabagh district in Ghazni province, to the southwest of Kabul, on Tuesday night, travellers from the province said.
Taliban occasionally attack and hold government positions briefly and then withdraw when Afghan and foreign troops arrive to drive them out.
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