Battle of Kandahar ( 2011 ) The Battle of Kandahar was an attack by Taliban forces on May 7 , 2011 , in the city of Kandahar . The battle was part of the 2011 Taliban Spring Offensive . The battle was the biggest Taliban offensive of 2011 , marking over 40 total deaths and over 50 total wounded . The fighting demonstrated that , despite heavy losses since 2001 , the Taliban forces remain a threat to coalition and Afghan forces , and show that morale in insurgent groups has not died since the death of Bin Laden . Background . Kandahar was known to have high insurgent levels . To push them out of Kandahar , in 2010 NATO and the US began a year - long campaign to push the Taliban and al - Qaeda out of Kandahar . Though a success , Kandahar still has insurgents in the city , though less than before . Battle . Early in the morning , 40 – 60 ( Taliban claim 100 ) militants used rocket - propelled grenades , guns and other weapons to attack the governor ' s office from nearby buildings . The Taliban then proceeded and attacked many more places , including outposts , police buildings and local offices . In most of the attacks , suicide bombers were used , though militants armed with guns also took part in the attack . In the suicide bombings , 4 civilians were killed and 50 wounded . Though fighting died down overnight , militants continued to attack throughout Sunday in a couple of abandoned buildings . The first casualty reports were released Sunday . AFP reported that there were 12 insurgents killed and seven captured , but AP quoted that Interior Ministry spokesman saying 23 attackers were killed , including eight that had suicide vests on . The battle continued for two days before Afghan police confirmed that most , or all , Taliban forces are out of Kandahar . On Sunday , Afghan police forced a little over two dozen Taliban militants back into a hotel , where Afghan police opened fire from rooftops . They killed over 20 until it came down to the last two . One of them was killed by gunfire , while the other one , wearing a suicide vest , blew himself up in the building , refusing to surrender . The Afghan Police and Security Forces effectively ended a majority of the battle . But , there continues to be minor amounts of Taliban inside the city . Aftermath . The first casualty reports were released Saturday . AFP reported that there were 12 insurgents killed and seven captured , but AP quoted that Interior Ministry spokesman saying 23 attackers were killed , including eight that had suicide vests on . Six police officers were killed and 4 wounded in the attack , and another 6 were killed in a separate attack in which police hit a roadside bomb and then were attacked by gunfire afterwards . In the Aftermath , a report by BBC said that civilians were too scared to go in or out of Kandahar . Two Afghan Security forces were killed . Taliban said that they had 100 militants in the city , but NATO claims there were only 40 – 60 . However , neither of these numbers were confirmed , and the exact number remains unknown . It is thought that many of the fighters in the attack were escapees from the Kandahar prison escape , because they were nearby and experienced fighters . If so , then the number of Taliban in / around Kandahar could be up to 500 – 600 militants . " We have fighters at every corner and Kandahar is surrounded , " Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said to AP reporters , by phone , though NATO doubted that there could be that many fighters in the city , since Taliban has been known to exaggerate numbers . At first , the attacks were believed to have been done in revenge of the Osama Bin Laden killing , though Taliban spokesperson Qari Yousuf Ahmadi denied this claim , saying : " A number of fighters are in several locations around the city . These are not retaliatory attacks for the death of Osama bin Laden but are part of our spring offensive . "