Taliban Steps Up Campaign

Just outside Afghanistan's second largest city Monday, hundreds of Taliban fighters invaded villages, forcing NATO and Afghan troops to rush in while frightened residents fled. On the outskirts of Kandahar, the Taliban assault is the latest display of prowess by the militants, despite a record number of U.S. and NATO troops in the country. The push into the Arghandab district, a lush region filled with grape and pomegranate groves that the Soviet army could never conquer, comes three days after a Taliban attack on Kandahar's prison that freed 400 insurgent fighters. NATO conceded Monday, that those fighters appear to be massing on the doorstep of the Taliban's former power base. The city of Kandahar lies only 10 miles to the southeast. The sophisticated and successful jailbreak, followed by the movement into Arghandab, is the latest evidence of the Taliban's growing strength. NATO and the U.S. have pleaded for more troops in the last year and now have 65,000 in the country. But the militants are still finding successes the international alliance can't counter.

Taliban Group Claims Suicide Blast Fatal to 11

There was a suicide bombing that killed at least 11 people at the gate of an army base on Sunday in the city of Mardan. A Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for this on Monday. This was reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. The attack was carried out by a branch of Tehrik-e-Taliban in response to a Pakistani military operation nearby. There is just no respect for life by these terrorists.