Afghans Beat Back Taliban Attack in Kandahar

With just months to go before the Canadian Forces' combat mission wraps up, the Afghan National Army scores a big victory.

The Taliban's biggest offensive of the spring “fighting” season was repelled by Afghan soldiers in Kandahar, where Canadian Forces are to be stationed until their combat mission ends this summer. The attack, which led to more than two dozen dead insurgents and two dead soldiers, suggests the Afghan National Army has improved enough to beat back complex Taliban attacks without the assistance of coalition forces in the region. It also marks the traditional start of when the Taliban awakes from a quiet and cold winter to resume its insurgency amid the spring thaw. Canadian troops will be in and around Kandahar until July, when their mission shifts from a combat role to training in the cities of Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.