Officials: Insurgents stop attack

Source: AP

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Hundreds of insurgents on Tuesday attacked Afghan police checkpoints in a remote eastern province with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, but failed to overrun the government positions, officials said.

The assault in Nuristan province, a rugged and mountainous area bordering Pakistan, is the second significant Taliban attack on Afghan government forces in less than four days and is part of the insurgents' long-awaited spring offensive.

The effectiveness of the Taliban's campaign could affect the size of President Barack Obama's planned drawdown of U.S. troops in July, the scale of which military officials have said will depend on conditions on the ground.

Nuristan province police chief, Gen. Shams-ul Rahman Zahid, said about 400 Taliban fighters launched their assault at dawn, striking government security outposts around a base housing reserve police units some 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of the provincial capital of Parun.

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Winner of the Least Informative Headline of the Day!

For those that read the news by skimming the headlines...that's a bit of a problem, I guess.