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The members of the Taleban on Friday, June 13, 2008, very audaciously attacked the main prison of Kandahar ‘Sarposa’ located the south of Afghanistan killing 15 guards and freeing around 1,200 prisoners. Among those who escaped from the prisons included around 350 Taleban members such as commanders, would-be suicide bombers and assassins. This information was confirmed by the head of Kandahar’s provincial council and a brother of President Hamid Karzai, Ahmed Wali Karzai.
The Taleban fighters have crucially damaged the main Kandahar prison in the attack. Speaking on this incident, Ahmed Wali Karzai said, ‘It is very dangerous for security. They are the most experienced killers and they all managed to escape.’ Even Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, the Taleban spokesperson confirmed the news stating that they have managed to free 400 of their people from the prison. He also informed that the attack was executed by 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers.
The fleeing of so many inmates from this Sarposa prison of Kandahar, especially members of the Taleban, is definitely going to pose a lot of security challenges for the local as well as NATO security forces in and around Kandahar. Kandahar also happens to be the home city of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, apart from being the spiritual capital of the Taleban. Traditionally, Kandahar is home to the rulers of Afghanistan, and control of it is seen as critical to the government’s hold on the entire country.
