Spin boldak, afghanistan-as the sun drops behind a curtain of mountains in eastern Afghanistan, a golden dust rises above this busy border crossing. On foot, donkey cart, rickshaw, and jangling Pakistani truck, a steady stream of anonymous faces spills past a symbolic green fence, unhindered by even a cursory check. They are merchants and refugees, travelers and, perhaps, Taliban fighters. Mohammed Ismael, his eyes focused on the small hammer he uses to mend ersatz Adidas sneakers and black, faux-leather shoes, figures that thousands of people pass through daily-though, he shrugs, "no one can tell you the exact number." The bustle of this border town is a sign of normalcy-and a cause for alarm. Afghanistan's war-scarred eastern and southern provinces are under a fresh spate of attacks by pro-Taliban guerrillas, some crossing into Afghanistan after being sheltered and stirred to action at Pakistan's fundamentalist madrasahs. For the past three weeks, American troops from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division and their Afghan allies in Operation Mountain Viper have been going after as many as 1,000 Taliban and foreign fighters hiding out in the mountainous region northeast of here.
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