Violence predicted to drive Taliban from Kandahar: Petraeus

The chief of US Central Command General David Petraeus warned Kandahar residents Friday of a violent summer ahead, predicting horrific actions by insurgents as his troops try to drive the Taliban from Kandahar.US forces are massing on the outskirts of the southern city for the biggest military offensive of the nearly nine-year-old war, in the hope of turning the tide against a strengthening Taliban insurgency. The Taliban have responded over the last few weeks with a campaign of bomb attacks, assassinations and suicide raids. The city's worsening security prompted the United Nations to shut its Kandahar office and withdraw foreign staff this week. General David Petraeus, who as head of US Central Command is responsible for the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, acknowledged security had deteriorated in the city, and said it was likely to get worse before it gets better. The enemy is going to take horrific actions to disrupt the progress that Afghan and coalition civilian and military elements are working so hard to achieve, Petraeus told in a news conference in Kandahar. There have been tough moments here in Kandahar in recent weeks. That is well known. And we know that there will be more tough moments in the weeks and months ahead, he added.