Free Republic

The country has become increasingly unstable, writes Declan Walsh in KandaharMaulavi Ghulam Muhammad, a stern-faced man with a combed white beard, is one of Afghanistan’s most senior clerics. As head of the Kandahar shura, or council, he leads the Islamic faithful in Kandahar, a city that was once the headquarters of Taliban rule. Now he fears for his life. Twelve of the shura’s 175 clerics have been assassinated in the past 12 months for their pro-government views. Many were murdered in drive-by shootings reminiscent of mafia-style assassinations. Muhammad could be next in line. He pulls out a Taliban fatwa, or...

(AP) — EDITOR'S NOTE: An AP reporting team has been embedded with U.S. soldiers for nearly two weeks in Kandahar and Helmand provinces as part of Operation Mount Thrust. The troops are now positioned on an isolated hilltop. BAGHRAN VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) — By night, the troops brace for Taliban mortar attacks. By day, they carry heavy gear and weapons over rocky ledges in scorching heat, stopping only to rehydrate, sometimes with the help of intravenous drips. Life with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment in southern Afghanistan is a battle not only against a stealthy and stubborn enemy but...

Huge anti-Taliban operation under way in Afghanistan 6 minutes ago Coalition and Afghan forces are conducting their biggest counterinsurgency operation since the Taliban regime fell in late 2001 and are preparing to move into new insurgent strongholds, the coalition announced. The campaign, named Operation Mountain Thrust, was launched in southern Afghanistan in mid-May, coalition spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick told AFP. Information about the campaign had been under wraps. Involving 11,000 coalition troops -- including from Britain, Canada and the United States -- as well as Afghan soldiers, it is the biggest operation against the Taliban since the movement's government...