http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080616/wl_asia_afp/afghanistanunrest\500 Taliban mass after Afghan jail-break, extra troops sentby Nasrat Shoaib
Mon Jun 16, 1:34 PM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - About 500 Taliban massed near Kandahar city on Monday as Afghan and NATO security forces sent reinforcements after a brazen rebel attack that busted more than 1,000 prisoners out of jail.
"We're preparing to launch an operation on them soon," said provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqeb.
Saqeb said dozens of families fearing fighting had fled two villages in the Arghandab district near Kandahar, where Friday's Taliban suicide-and-gun attack blew a hole in the main jail and allowed the inmates to flee.
He would not confirm whether the Taliban gathered in the villages included the 400 militants set free in the attack.
Afghanistan's defence ministry and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul meanwhile said they were redeploying troops to respond to a "potential threat" from the escaped prisoners.
Defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said several Afghan army units were dispatched and more units were on their way to reinforce troops already in the restive southern province.
NATO officials said the force was also "redeploying to meet potential threats" from escaped Taliban rebels.
"It's fair to say that the jailbreak put lots of people into circulation that weren't before. Obviously you're going to respond to that potential threat," NATO civilian spokesman Mark Laity told a news conference.
Azimi said the redeployment was aimed at hunting the escaped prisoners as well as "clearing the enemy" in the province.
"The hunt for the escaped prisoners forcefully continues. If the enemy intends any movement they'll be forcefully hit," Azimi said.
"We assure the people of Afghanistan and the people of Kandahar in particular that the clearance operation continues and will continue," he added.
General Carlos Branco, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), gave assurances that the district would not be taken over by the Taliban, whose movement has its roots in Kandahar province.
"Don't come with these black pictures that Arghandab is on the brink to fall into the hands of the Taliban. That's nonsense," Branco told the same news briefing.
The jailbreak was a blow to President Hamid Karzai, coming one day after world donors pledged 20 billion dollars to rebuild Afghanistan at a conference in Paris but also called on him to strengthen the rule of law.
Despite the presence of about 70,000 international troops mainly operating under NATO, the insurgency aimed at toppling the US-backed government in Kabul has gained pace in the past two years.
Taliban militants have launched their most sophisticated attacks in recent months, raiding a five-star hotel in January and opening fire on a televised military parade attended by Karzai in April.
Separately, the US-led force which has deployed about 16,000 troops in addition to the NATO forces said that it has killed 35 Taliban insurgents over the weekend in Helmand province and neighbouring Zabul.
Britain also said it was sending an additional 230 troops to Afghanistan, boosting the British contingent to its highest level since operations began in 2001.
