Politics

摘要

Coalition troops in Afghanistan mounted their biggest offensive against the Taliban since the start of the eight-year war. Centred on Marja, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province, it involved foreign and Afghan forces. The coalition said early stages had gone well. But there were fierce firefights, and its advance was slowed by a vast network of bombs and booby-traps. Twelve civilians were killed in an American rocket attack. It was revealed that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's deputy leader, had been captured in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub. Analysts in America hoped this signalled a shift in strategy by Pakistan, which has long tolerated and even supported a Taliban presence on its soil.