KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 11 (UPI) -- Taliban forces are regrouping and at their strongest level since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan while NATO troops begin deployment.
The New York Times reports the Taliban claims to have 12,000 fighters to battle 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
NATO has 9,700 troops on the ground now, growing to 16,000 while U.S. forces are drawn down to about 20,000.
Afghanis are frustrated with the 4 1/2 years of turmoil and insecurity and are becoming fed up with casualties of U.S. bombs, the Times said Sunday.
Hundreds of families were forced from their Panjwai district homes alone while untold numbers of refugees move to safer areas around the country.
The Taliban have reportedly set up a checkpoint along a main highway in the Helmand province, another sign of their increased power.
With the small number of troops covering the vast landscape, the government is also having trouble meeting needs, the newspaper said.
Abdul Qadar Noorzi, the director of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kandahar, said the local government isn't trusted and people are using makeshift Taliban courts for justice.
Talatbek Masadykov, the U.N. head in Kandahar said: "The situation is really, in the last four years, the most unstable and insecure I have seen."
