Whack-A-Mole, Afghan Style

By Cernig

On Tuesday the US general in command of NATO forces in Afghanistan claimed that a promised Taliban spring offensive had fizzled.

"We heard the much-ballyhooed spring offensive that the insurgents were going to make, and if there is an offensive - I am confident, I say and believe - we were first out of the block," McNeill said in an interview at his headquarters here. "What we did in effect was launch a spoiling attack."

But on Wednesday a major operation had to be launched to retake a key valley road, just 70 miles from the capital, from over 300 Taliban fighters.

Afghan government forces have retaken a major road the Taliban seized northeast of Kabul during the heaviest fighting close to the capital since the Islamists were ousted in 2001, an official said on Thursday.

Backed by support from the U.S.-led coalition, Afghan forces late on Wednesday retook the road in Tagab district of Kapisa province, 70 km (40 miles) from Kabul, a defence ministry spokesman said.

There were no casualties among the Afghan troops during the operation near Bagram, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan.

"We have taken back the road and are planning now to launch a cleaning up operation," spokesman Zahir Azimi said.

He did not know how many Taliban fighters had dug in in the rugged Tagab valley, but Kapisa's governor believed the militants strength was up to 300 well-equipped fighters.

As recently as December, the same valley and road had been proclaimed "secure" after another large anti-Taliban operation.

.S. Special Forces say a little-publicized Afghan-U.S. operation in the Tagab Valley north of the city busted three suicide training compounds and scattered hundreds of Taliban fighters.

"There was definitely the potential for Tagab to provide that launch board, if you will, for additional attacks," U.S. Army Special Forces Lt. Col. Lynn Ashley told The Associated Press this week. "A threat to Bagram, a threat to Kabul," he said, referring to the main U.S. base in Afghanistan.

..."Tagab was a key base for the Taliban, where they made homemade bombs and gave suicide attackers training," [Governor] Murad said. "Coalition forces and the Afghan army and police have regular patrols now, and I'm sure the Taliban will not come back."

And this, mind you, is without a spring offensive, according to the general.