Intercepted phone calls show Taliban commanders have been orchestrating deadly attacks here and in other parts of Afghanistan from a safe haven across the border in Pakistan, a senior Afghan intelligence official told The Associated Press.
The resurgent Taliban forces — who were chased from Afghanistan two years ago by the U.S.-led war — are getting protection from Islamic hardline politicians and rogue elements of Pakistani security, Afghan and Western officials charge. Ghazni province, southwest of Kabul, has been on the front lines of the recent violence, and many residents say the local government and security officials have been unable or unwilling to end the insurgency. Former Taliban walk the streets of this hardscrabble town, hiding only behind a change of clothes. They boldly tried to assassinate the police chief last week and have turned the back roads into a gauntlet of fear for aid workers. Full Story