NATO to Target Kandahar in June

A U.S. Army adviser trains Afghan Army soldiers and national policemen in close quarters battle techniques on March 18 at Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. (John Moore/Getty Images)

NATO forces are expected to make a long-planned assault on the southern Afghan city of Kandahar in June this year.

AP quotes a senior military official saying the two-month offensive aims to clear the city of Taliban forces by August, before the beginning of the Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

Kandahar, which used to be the Taliban’s governing capital, remains the spiritual home of the Taliban and a stronghold to the insurgents. Several thousand troops are expected to be sent. The surge in Kandahar is expected to be different from Marjah, where instead of fighting in rural areas troops will face a densely populated city.