700 Taliban massing near dam

Reuters:

At least 700 Taliban fighters have crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan to reinforce guerrillas attacking a key dam, a major source of electricity and irrigation, a provincial governor said on Monday.

"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.

The Kajaki dam has seen major fighting in recent weeks between the Taliban and
NATO forces, mainly British and Dutch.

NATO-led troops have been conducting operations in the area for several months to allow reconstruction on the dam and the power transmission lines to boost output, after fighting halted refurbishment last year.

A spokesman for the NATO-led force confirmed rebel movements in the dam area, including across the border, but could not confirm the governor's numbers or any other details.

Built by the Soviets in 1953, the dam irrigates about 142,000 hectares (285,000 acres) of farmland and two hydroelectic plants built by the United States in 1975 have a capacity of 33 megawatts. A third plant is planned, which would almost double that capacity by 2009.

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The Taliban are presenting the US and coalition forces with a real opportunity by massing such a large number of forces in area where they can be attacked and destroyed. It appears that they did not learn the lessons of last years campaign where their company size units were destroyed when they made contact with NATO and US forces. By jumping up to battalion size forces they present a bigger target. The are still a light infantry force trying to fight against a combined arms opponent with highly trained combat troops. The odds are very much against them.