/ Source: The Associated Press
There may be between 10,000 and 15,000 Taliban fighting inside the country, and the insurgent group is operating in about 17 provinces, Afghanistan's interior minister said.
Mohammad Hanif Atmar offered a rare estimate of the size of his government's most organized and potent opponent during a visit to Washington. A large delegation of senior Afghan officials was in the U.S. capital this week, along with a delegation from Pakistan.
Both groups were weighing in as the new Obama administration forms a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and a related policy for Pakistan.
Afghan officials said they told their hosts that a new strategy must include better cooperation from Pakistan, where Taliban and other militants have command operations.
