Hit And Run: Afghan Special Forces Battle Elusive Taliban

A Humvee hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) burns during an early morning mission by Afghan special forces on July 13. The elite troops were attempting to rescue police commander Ahmad Shah, who was besieged by Taliban militants on the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar.

A civilian runs for cover amid a shoot-out that erupted as Afghan special forces neared the checkpoint where Shah was holed up. A Reuters photographer traveling with the convoy says gunfire appeared to come from both sides of the road before several RPGs were fired at the vehicles. 

A Humvee wrecked during the July 13 rescue mission. Three of the eight vehicles used in the operation took direct hits from RPGs and had to be left behind. 

An Afghan special forces soldier during the rescue mission. After three vehicles were destroyed by RPG fire, commandos piled into the remaining vehicles. 

The convoy returning to base after Shah was successfully rescued. None of the special forces involved in the operation was killed. Shah suffered a leg injury.

A special forces soldier stops traffic near the site where the convoy came under attack. Shah told Reuters after being rescued: "We were 15 [police] and all my comrades surrendered [to the Taliban] except me...I said to myself that I'm not going to do that and, as long as I have a gun, why should I give up?"

The battle-weary fighters freshen up at their base after the July 13 rescue mission. The dangerous assignment came at dawn, just minutes after the elite soldiers had returned to their base from a late-night mission. 

Special forces soldiers pray ahead of a nighttime mission in Kandahar on July 12. A commander told Reuters ahead of the assignment that he had received a report "that the enemy had infiltrated here and wanted to overthrow the district."

A special forces soldier speaks to a resident as others search his house during the anti-Taliban operation on July 12. 

A pro-government militiaman loads his rifle as the special forces visit a government-held base on July 12. Many militias in the country have vowed to fight alongside government troops against the advancing Taliban, which has taken control of dozens of districts in Afghanistan since U.S.-led military forces began withdrawing on May 1.

Members of the Afghan special forces search a house during the combat mission against the Taliban. The extremist Islamist group is known for attacking and then melting away, making the fight against the militants extremely difficult in populated areas. 

A special-forces soldier treats an Afghan National Army soldier who was injured in a firefight with the Taliban on June 12. 

Members of the Afghan special forces keep watch as comrades search houses during the nighttime mission in Kandahar. Taliban spokesmen claim the Islamic extremist group has taken control of 85 percent of Afghanistan's territory, an assertion that was dismissed by Afghan officials as propaganda.