Deadly bomb attacks in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were a warning to Nato's top general that the Taliban are ready for a coming offensive in their heartland, the insurgents have said.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the bombings show the insurgents are still able to operate despite the buildup of Afghan and international troops in the south in preparation for a push into Kandahar province.
A separate, Taliban-linked website called the attacks a "warning" to General Stanley McChrystal.
The top Nato general has said Kandahar province is the next target for coalition forces who recently drove the insurgents from a key stronghold in neighbouring Helmand province.
"General McChrystal has said that soon they will start their operations, and now we have already started our operations," Ahmadi said by telephone. "With all the preparations they have taken, still they are not able to stop us."
The multiple explosions - there were at least five blasts, four of them suicide attacks - killed at least 35 people, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Kandahar provincial Governor Tooryalai Wesa told reporters that he had asked the central government in Kabul for more Afghan troops to protect the city in the run-up to the expected offensive in the province, which is the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. He also said he wants to co-ordinate with Nato forces to improve security.
Residents said Taliban militants can operate with little restraint in Kandahar, the largest city in southern Afghanistan and capital of the province that shares its name.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attacks, which hit the city's prison, police headquarters, a wedding hall next door and other areas on roads leading to the prison.
The main target was the prison, where investigators have found eight suicide vests, three rockets and AK-47 ammunition, police said.
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