Taliban Offensive Approaches Kandahar

The US and NATO are losing the war in Afghanistan, militarily. From NPR:

NATO Prepares For Fight Against Taliban In South

NATO forces were preparing Tuesday to move against Taliban fighters in an area near the southern city of Kandahar, where militiamen have seized control of several villages.

Taliban militants destroyed bridges and sowed mines in several villages under their control in the Arghandab district, north of Kandahar, in apparent preparation for a battle with Afghan and coalition troops, residents and officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, thousands of civilians were loading up tractors with their belongings and fleeing Arghandab, according to an NPR reporter at the scene. He said as some villagers fled, they passed convoys of Afghan army soldiers going the opposite direction.

The Afghan army flew four planeloads of soldiers to Kandahar from the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday. Canadian forces have also moved into the region.

The Taliban push into Arghandab district came three days after a coordinated attack by the hard-line Islamist militia on Kandahar’s prison that freed 400 insurgent fighters.