Attacks signal end of poppy harvest in Afghanistan

[babsbunny]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hnUfMIsVX6q1P_9Uc8G0BCpwmvlgD9FI32CG1

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT (AP) – 3 days ago

GHUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan — The gunfire and explosions echoing across this Taliban-infested district in southern Afghanistan on Friday signaled the end of the opium poppy harvest as militants again turned their attention from agriculture to attacking NATO and Afghan forces.

U.S. Army soldiers perched on this small hilltop base in Kandahar province's Zhari district had a ringside seat to the early morning fighting. It snapped a lull in violence that had lasted almost three weeks while the Taliban focused on taxing the poppy crop, one of its main sources of revenue.

Building up resources is especially important for the Taliban this year as NATO is ramping up its latest military operation in Kandahar, the group's spiritual heartland. Military commanders have characterized the Kandahar mission as the make-or-break battle of the nearly 9-year-old war.