InfoAnda - Afghan Taliban declare start to spring offensive |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

NKorea mobilizes 100,000 for new year rally | 6 January 2009
Brazil's 2010 trade surplus lowest in 8 years: official | 4 January 2011
Barn in China collapses, killing 10, injuring 9 | 18 October 2009

China mine blast kills 9 as coal carnage continues | 27 November 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Afghan Taliban declare start to spring offensive |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Republican Romney blames Obama for gasoline prices 29 Apr 2011 Syrian forces kill 62, U.S. tightens sanctions | 29 Apr 2011 Strongest tornado of week hurled bodies into fields 29 Apr 2011 Libya's Gaddafi calls for negotiation with NATO | 12:13am EDT Man drives car into Grand Canyon, survives 27 Apr 2011 Discussed 145 Obama sees no magic bullet to push down gas prices 97 White House releases longer Obama birth certificate 75 Donald Trump calls U.S. leaders ”stupid” Watched Kate's wedding party evening gown Fri, Apr 29 2011 Tornado clean-up could cost billions 3:39am EDT Fire ants form rafts to defy floods Tue, Apr 26 2011 Afghan Taliban declare start to spring offensive Tweet Share this By Jonathon Burch and Rob Taylor KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban declared the start of a spring offensive across Afghanistan Saturday, warning they would target foreign troops, as well as Afghan security forces and top government officials, in a wave... Email Print Related News Afghan violence rises amid troop surge: Pentagon Fri, Apr 29 2011 Libya angers Tunisia as war briefly crosses border Thu, Apr 28 2011 Bomb attack in Morocco tourist cafe kills 15 Thu, Apr 28 2011 Bomb hits Pakistan navy bus, third this week Thu, Apr 28 2011 Baathists quit over Syria's Deraa crackdown Wed, Apr 27 2011 Analysis & Opinion Taliban finding clarity as NATO struggles to deliver message India and Pakistan agree to expand trade, rewrite the rules Related Topics World » Afghanistan » By Jonathon Burch and Rob Taylor KABUL | Sat Apr 30, 2011 3:22am EDT KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban declared the start of a spring offensive across Afghanistan Saturday, warning they would target foreign troops, as well as Afghan security forces and top government officials, in a wave of attacks including suicide bombings. In a statement, the hardline Islamists warned Afghan civilians to stay away from public gatherings, military bases and convoys, as well as Afghan government centers and buildings, as these would be the focus of attacks starting on May 1. The Taliban statement comes just a day after senior military officials and Western diplomats warned they expected a surge in insurgent attacks over the next week, beginning on Sunday. "The Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants to declare the launching of the spring military operations named as "Badar" to be waged against the invading Americans and their foreign allies and internal supports," the Taliban said in an emailed statement. "Operations will focus on attacks against military centers, places of gatherings, airbases, ammunition and logistical military convoys of the foreign invaders in all parts of the country," the Taliban said. Senior military officials told Reuters Friday that recent intelligence reporting indicated the campaign of increased violence would last about a week and would be mounted by the Taliban, supported by the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network and other insurgents. Washington and commanders of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have trumpeted successes against a growing insurgency since 30,000 extra U.S. troops were sent to Afghanistan last year. CIVILIAN WARNING The Taliban said the targets of the attacks would be foreign forces, high-ranking officials of President Hamid Karzai's government, members of the cabinet and lawmakers, as well as the heads of foreign and local companies working for the NATO-led coalition. "All Afghan people should bear in mind to keep away from gatherings, convoys and centers of the enemy so that they will not become harmed during attacks of Mujahideen against the enemy," the Taliban said. Senior military commanders have long anticipated a spike in violence with the arrival of the spring and summer "fighting season," although the usual winter lull was not seen as U.S-led forces pressed their attacks against insurgents, particularly in the Taliban's southern heartland. Violence across Afghanistan hit record levels in 2010, with civilian and military casualties the worst since U.S-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001. The Pentagon said in a biannual report Friday that an overall increase in violence was due in part to increased targeting of safe insurgent safe havens and unseasonably mild winter weather. Earlier this month a suicide bomber wearing a police uniform killed Gen. Khan Mohammed Mujahid, the Kandahar police chief, while another uniformed suicide bomber killed five NATO soldiers. An Afghan pilot shot dead eight U.S. soldiers and a civilian contractor at Kabul airport this week. The Taliban did not say how long their stepped-up campaign would last, but said it had been codenamed "Badar" after a decisive Muslim 7th Century battle victory in western Arabia that Muslims attribute to divine intervention. In the statement, the Taliban repeated their frequent claim that fighting in Afghanistan would not end until foreign troops had left the country. They also called on Afghan government officials and security forces to switch sides to the insurgency. Military commanders interviewed by Reuters this week were not sure why May 1 had been chosen by the Taliban to launch their renewed offensive. The anticipated Taliban campaign would not change the coalition's counterinsurgency strategy put in place last year by U.S. General David Petraeus, the commander of the 150,000 U.S. and ISAF troops in Afghanistan, they said. Under a program agreed at a NATO summit last year, ISAF said it will begin handing security responsibility to Afghan forces in several areas from July. The program will end with the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. (Writing by Rob Taylor; Editing by Andrew Marshall) World Afghanistan Tweet this Share this Link this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 30 April 2011
German police arrest three al Qaeda suspects |
Mexico extradites once-powerful drug lord to U.S. |
Bombing dents Morocco's image as a tourist haven |
Peru election race tightens to tie |
Microsoft stock in biggest one-day fall since 2009 |
Inside Job director to shoot WikiLeaks film |
UK police make 55 arrests around royal wedding |
William to wear army uniform for royal wedding |
Libya's Gaddafi calls for negotiation with NATO |
Syrian forces kill 62, U.S. tightens sanctions |
Afghan Taliban declare start to spring offensive |
Morocco counts cost of bombing at tourist hotspot |
Mexico extradites once-powerful drug lord to U.S. |
Pro-Ai graffiti in Hong Kong sparks warning by Chinese army |
FTC prepping Google probe: report |
ITC judge rules for Apple in fight with Elan |
Delay sought in trial of Michael Jackson's doctor |
Mike Tyson tattoo artist sues to block Hangover |
Satirical Mormon musical leads Drama Desk noms |
Yemen power transition deal faces last-minute snag |
Germany says al Qaeda suspects planned bomb attack |
Bombs kill two rangers in Thailand's restive south |
Uganda's Museveni vows to defeat protests |
Egypt Muslim group contests half parliament seats |
Pilgrims flock to Rome for John Paul beatification |
Sony's No.2 Hirai to brief media Sunday on data theft |
Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato dies at age 99 |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01