Canadian troops expect increased Taliban attacks
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Taliban militants in Afghanistan will step up their attacks on Canadian troops this year, using a combination of suicide bombers, roadside bombs and ambushes, the country's top soldier predicted on Wednesday.
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Warplanes and artillery pounded Taliban fighters hiding in orchards Sunday during a big Afghan-NATO offensive that the alliance said killed more than 200 militants in its first two days. Four Canadian soldiers also were killed.
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Canada will pull its 2,500 troops out of Afghanistan early next year unless NATO sends in significant reinforcements, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday, signaling Ottawa has lost patience with what it sees as foot-dragging by allies.
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SEVILLE, Spain  - The United States stepped up pressure on NATO allies on Thursday to send more troops to crush an expected Taliban offensive in the coming weeks.
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Britain is expected to announce the  deployment of more than 1,000 extra troops to Afghanistan to  help combat an anticipated offensive by Taliban insurgents in  coming months, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.
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The Taliban's top military commander said his forces have assembled a hundreds-strong army of suicide attackers poised for a spring offensive against U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan.
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There are greater numbers of Taliban rebels putting up a fight in southern Afghanistan than expected by the newly-deployed British military, a senior commander said.
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PASHMUL, Afghanistan -- Warplanes and artillery pounded Taliban fighters hiding in orchards yesterday during a large Afghan-NATO offensive that the alliance said killed more than 200 militants in its first two days. Four Canadian soldiers also were killed.
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Taliban opposition to NATO forces in   Afghanistan is far tougher than expected when alliance troops   were initially deployed to aid reconstruction, British Defense   Minister Des Browne will say on Tuesday.
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Canada is preparing to send 15 Leopard tanks and an additional 120 soldiers to bolster the NATO contingent in Afghanistan, The Globe and Mail reported.
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Expecting the resurgent Taliban to stage a spring offensive, the U.S. military is moving a brigade of troops into Afghanistan, instead of Iraq, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.
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NATO's plans to send more soldiers to Afghanistan to quell a resurgent Taliban would simply give the rebels more targets, a guerrilla commander said on Thursday.
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From Tuesday's Globe and Mail OTTAWA AND TIRIN KOT, AFGHANISTAN - Prime Minister Stephen Harper goes recruiting today, hoping to convince combat-shy Europeans to reinforce Canada's embattled troops doing much ...Comment
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Canada brushed off allegations on Monday that Taliban members captured by Canadian troops and handed over to Afghan authorities had been tortured, saying the militants often made false claims of mistreatment.
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Countries with troops in southern Afghanistan will discuss on Friday how to tackle rising violence by Taliban insurgents and mounting U.S. calls for bigger contributions to NATO's Afghan mission.
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A top Taliban commander said Wednesday the group has 4,000 fighters bracing to rebuff NATO's largest-ever offensive in southern Afghanistan, now in its second day. Suicide bombers are ready, land mines have been planted and helicopters will be targeted, Mullah Abdul Qassim, a top Taliban commander in Helmand province told The Associated Press.
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KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's surging violence left three Canadian soldiers and 21 suspected Taliban militants dead yesterday, while insurgents grabbed control of another district headquarters in the south.