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Taliban launches Afghanistan offensive

Hundreds of Taliban rebels are involved.

By Ed Adamczyk

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A major Taliban offensive in Afghanistan's Logar province has begun, Afghan officials said Tuesday.

The Taliban is entrenched in Logar, an hour away from the capital of Kabul, and in nearby Wardak province, where increasingly violent assaults against civilians and government forces during the summer have involved hundreds of rebels. It has used the provinces as bases of operations for hit-and-run and suicide bombings within Kabul, and has also used residential neighborhoods.

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"We are being extra careful not to cause any civilian casualties. We have enough forces to deal with it," Abdul Hakim Esaaqzai, Logar police chief, said.

Foreign troops, including those of the United States, are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, prompting fears the Taliban will overrun Kabul more easily. A bilateral security agreement between Afghanistan and the United States, beyond 2014, has yet to be signed. Meanwhile, the results of a presidential election four month ago, to replace outgoing President Hamid Karzai, are still unclear.

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