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WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2008) - Afghan national security
forces led successful operations last week to counter the Taliban's
raid on a Kandahar city prison, a U.S. military official said
yesterday.
"The Afghan National Army -- much to the surprise of the Taliban
-- deployed quickly, deployed in large numbers and deployed
effectively and attacked them effectively and defeated the [enemy]
forces and pushed them out," U.S. Army Col. Thomas McGrath,
commander of NATO's Afghanistan Regional Security Command South,
said in a teleconference with online journalists and bloggers.
Afghan and coalition forces conducted aggressive operations in
and around Kandahar after the Taliban raided Sarposa Prison on June
13.
"The Taliban attacked the prison in a commando raid, which began
with a suicide-truck bomber blowing up ... at the main gate in
downtown Kandahar," McGrath recalled. "Other Taliban terrorists
followed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire."
McGrath said he estimates that 200 to 300 of the inmates who
escaped during the raid were Taliban.
Afghan security forces mobilized very quickly, McGrath said, and
led aggressive operations in Kandahar and the northwestern district
of Arghandab, where the Taliban fled seeking sanctuary. Members of
coalition embedded training teams were involved in these
operations, he said, but only to mentor and assist the Afghan
forces.
"It was evident that the Afghan national security forces were in
the lead," McGrath said. "We used their plan, not our plan. We let
them lead the attacks, and they did quite well."
McGrath said 80 Taliban were killed and 25 were captured during
operations in Arghandab, and the district was fully secured in two
days. "We were able to attack [the Taliban] and defeat them
decisively," he said.
Another 20 to 30 Taliban were killed southwest of Kandahar, he
added.
McGrath said the success of these operations shows the Afghan
forces' flexibility and agility, and he credited the constant
training the coalition provides.
"I don't think they could have done this last year, ... or maybe
even six or seven months ago," he said.
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