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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/29/96778/dangerous-afghan-highway-threatens.html
Dangerous Afghan highway threatens NATO supply flow
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
The road from Kabul to Kandahar, built with U.S. aid money, has become the most dangerous highway in Afghanistan. Roadside bombs and armed ambushes plague drivers on the route from the capital to the spiritual home of the Taliban. |
Insurgents have blown up a dozen bridges, six causeways and 85 culverts, according to U.S. officials. There were nearly 300 attacks on the road in a recent five-week period, mostly on armed convoys that were carrying goods for NATO forces. The Taliban have set up checkpoints to demonstrate their control of the highway.
The Kabul-Kandahar highway, part of the ring road that links Afghanistan's major cities, is a symbol of the American commitment to encourage commerce and put the country on its feet. The U.S. spent $1 billion to rebuild the ring road, and an estimated 35 percent of the country's population lives within 30 miles of the Kabul-Kandahar stretch.
The International Security Assistance Force said there were about 90 improvised-bomb strikes, 120 bombs found and 290 armed attacks on the highway from May 6 to June 10.
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