Taliban jail break wrong-footed Afghan army

By Jonathon Burch

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces knew Taliban militants were planning an offensive near the southern city of Kandahar last week but were distracted by a mass prison break, a senior army officer said on Saturday.

The Taliban have seized the initiative around Kandahar in the past two weeks, freeing up to 400 comrades from the city jail, then occupying villages outside the town. Afghan and foreign troops have launched an offensive to drive them out.

The Taliban had been gathering in the outlying district of Khakrez, planning to move from there to Arghandab, an area of rich orchards just 20 km northwest of Kandahar city.

"We were planning to conduct an operation in Khakrez but unfortunately the incident that happened in the city changed all the programmes," Afghan army chief of operations Lieutenant General Shir Mohammad Karim told a news conference.

The incident he mentioned was one of the biggest jail breaks in modern history. A suicide truck bomber rammed the gates of Kandahar jail on June 13 and militants stormed the building, setting free up to 400 Taliban and about 700 criminals.

The Afghan army, stationed 30 km outside Kandahar, was told of the jail break an hour after it took place, Karim said.

"By the time we got there, there was no use controlling or taking over or searching the jail because the people had gone already," he said.

Fearing a Taliban attack on Kandahar, the army began securing the city, abandoning plans to forestall the attack on Arghandab.