NATO forces and the Taliban are locked in a battle over the Kajaki dam in Helmand province. The Soviet-built dam houses a power station that supplies electricity to Kandahar and other southern Afghan cities.
For the past few weeks NATO troops have been skirmishing with Taliban insurgents. NATO hopes to secure the dam area so reconstruction can go ahead on the power plant and the Taliban, of course, are fighting to prevent that.
Recently NATO declared victory at Kajaki but it appears their fight is far from over. Reuters reports that 700-Taliban reinforcements have crossed over from Pakistan to carry on the fight for the dam:
"'We have got confirmed reports that they are Pakistani, Uzbek and Chechen nationals and have sneaked in,' Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa told Reuters by telephone.
"Wafa said the Taliban fighters were brought in by local commanders for a joint operation with al Qaeda.
"'They are planning to destroy the Kajaki dam,' he said, accusing Pakistan's military intelligence agency, ISI, of providing training and logistical support for the guerrillas.
"The Afghan government, backed by its western supporters, has launched a major effort to refurbish the dam and the power transmission network to increase its power output."
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