One More New Democracy Will Do Us In

Afghan Envoy Warns U.S. of Possible Major Attacks
By CARLOTTA GALL

Published: October 8, 2003

ABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 7 — The Bush administration's special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, warned Tuesday that the Taliban and Al Qaeda might be planning "larger" or "more spectacular attacks" in Afghanistan as part of a campaign against the reconstruction process.
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Saturday, October 11, 2003

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — More than 40 Taliban (search) militants escaped from a southern Afghanistan prison by digging a 30-foot-long tunnel and with apparent help from officials, regional leaders said Saturday.

The 41 escaped convicts — including several Taliban commanders and the brother of former Taliban defense minister, Mullah Ubaidullah (search) — disappeared late Friday from a high-security prison in the city of Kandahar, said Yousaf Pashtoon, the governor of Kandahar (search) province.
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Taliban Fighters Launch Bold Strike on Government Office
By CARLOTTA GALL

Published: October 12, 2003

ABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 12 — Suspected Taliban fighters killed at least seven people and injured two in the early hours today in a bold attack on a government district office in the southern Afghan province of Zabul, local security officials said.

An American soldier was wounded in a separate attack today, when gunmen opened fire on a special forces unit training the Afghan National Army on a firing range on the edge of Kabul, the capital. The soldier's injuries were not serious, but the attack was a reminder that hostile elements still threaten the capital.

A quick reaction unit of NATO peacekeepers in Kabul pursued the attackers and captured a man suspected to be one of the three gunmen, said a spokesman for the United States military at Bagram Airbase.

The attacks came a day after a jailbreak by 40 suspected Taliban fighters from a prison in the southern city of Kandahar. The escape dealt a heavy blow to the government of President Hamid Karzai, which is struggling to contain a violent insurgency by suspected Taliban fighters.

Five or six of the prisoners were believed to be important Taliban figures, the Kandahar governor, Yusuf Pashtun, said on Saturday. Six security guards were also missing, and apparently had helped in the escape, since the prisoners had been shackled and had dug a 30-yard-long tunnel to get out. None of the escapees have been caught, police officials said on Sunday.

In the latest attack, up to 80 suspected Taliban fighters on motorbikes attacked the district office and police station in the Arghandab district of Zabul province. They set the district office on fire, and killed four soldiers and three other workers, said Haji Saifullah, the military division commander of Zabul province. The police fought off the attackers and believed some had been wounded, said the provincial police chief, Muhammad Ayub.

The officials said they believed the attackers had crossed the border from Pakistan and had fled back there, although it was clear they must have had local help for the attack. "These days they have bought lots of motorbikes, Honda motorbikes, strong bikes," said Mr. Saifullah said, adding that the attackers could escape back over the border to Pakistan in just four hours on a motorbike.

He said that judging from bloodstains at the scene, several of the attackers had been injured but that the attackers had carried their wounded away with them Tweet