The Taliban said they were behind an attack on a Kabul guesthouse last week that killed 14 people, including nine foreigners, and also a suicide car bombing this week that killed three people, among them two young girls and a British security contractor. The Taliban launched their spring offensive in late April with attacks across a widespread area of the country in what appears to be a fresh strategy aimed at forcing the government to concentrate its efforts and assets on security — rather than on much-needed economic reforms.