Karzai orders extra troops in Kandahar

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered extra security forces for the southern city of Kandahar, following the death of dozens of people in Taliban attacks.

“The Afghan president has ordered new security forces for better security of Kandahar,” Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar told reporters on Monday.

The news comes a day after seven coordinated explosions, four bomber attacks and three improvised bomb blasts in Kandahar left 35 people dead and 100 injured in the largest city of the southern Taliban heartland.

The attacks are regarded as one of the biggest coordinated assaults by the Taliban in more than eight years.

The Taliban, who regard Kandahar as their spiritual center, said the attack was a preemptive response to plans by Afghan and NATO forces to launch military operations in the city.

Earlier, the governor of Kandahar province, Tooryalai Wesa, also called for more troops to be sent to the city as the residents were gripped by panic.

Last week, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told troops to brace for a tough fight as NATO laid plans to extend the fight against militants to Kandahar.