The UN has suspended use of the roads in southern Afghanistan after a series of ambushes left seven dead and 15 wounded. The Taliban have also attacked mine clearing crews (which are mostly Afghans) in northern and eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban is trying to drive out foreign aid organizations, seeing them as hostile to the return of the Taliban to power. Taliban spokesmen said that they plan to launch more attacks in northern Afghanistan. What was unsaid was that most of these Taliban operations are actually in northeast Afghanistan, as the Taliban gunmen are coming from bases in Pakistan.