A U.S. Army soldier pulls security while U.S. and Afghan army soldiers talk to village elders in the village of Kopak, Mohammud-Agha district, Logar province, Afghanistan, April 22, 2010. The U.S soldiers are assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division's 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Russell GilchrestKandahar Braces Itself For A Bloody Summer Offensive -- The Guardian
The Taliban's more brutal treatment of civilians and Nato's response have raised the temperature – and the fear factor – as the fighting season approaches
The coming of spring always brings an influx of Taliban fighters to the district of Zhari, where the young leaves on the grapevines and fruit orchards provide cover so thick that Nato's hi-tech thermal imaging cameras struggle to see the insurgents hiding within.
But this year things are different. The Taliban are back once again, but the locals who live in the area on the western doorstep of the city of Kandahar say they have arrived in far higher numbers than in previous years.
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