Afghanistan hit by wave of suicide bombings
Pastor Dale Morgan
Afghanistan hit by wave of suicide bombings*
· Canadian soldiers among 19 killed in three attacks
· Taliban launches reply to Nato claims of success
Declan Walsh in Kabul
Tuesday September 19, 2006
The Guardian
A chain of suicide bombings killed 19 people, including four Canadian
soldiers, across Afghanistan yesterday, in guerrilla violence bearing an
increasing resemblance to the conflict in Iraq. The blasts came a day
after Nato claimed it had scored a victory after killing more than 500
insurgents in two weeks of fighting in the Taliban's southern heartland.
But yesterday's first attack occurred in the same area when a
bicycle-mounted bomber attacked Canadian troops distributing gifts to
local children. The blast tore through the crowd, killing four Canadian
soldiers and injuring 14 more, Nato officials and security sources said.
About 25 Afghans were injured in the attack in Panjwayi district,
western Kandahar. They included two girls, aged six and 10, who were
flown by helicopter to a hospital in Kandahar.
The greatest carnage occurred in the normally peaceful western city of
Herat, near the Iranian border, when a bomber on a motorcycle killed 11
people, including four policemen, outside a mosque.
A third suicide attacker struck a busy market in Pul I Charki, on the
eastern outskirts of Kabul, killing four policemen.
Last night it was too early to judge if the attacks were coordinated. A
Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility only for the Kandahar killings,
warning that attacks on Canadian, British and Dutch forces in the south
would continue.
Still, the timing of the attacks suggested a calculated rebuke against
Nato. On Sunday Lieutenant General David Richards, commander of the
20,000-strong Nato force, declared that the two-week drive into western
Kandahar, known as Operation Medusa, had been a "significant success".
Although Nato officially claims to have killed more than 500 Taliban
during the two-week sweep, some officers privately said the figure could
be more than 1,000, making it the bloodiest battle Afghanistan has seen
since 2001.
Gen Richards said a "secure environment" had been created in Panjwayi
and Zheri districts, clearing the way for the rebuilding of
battle-damaged houses and the return of thousands of displaced
civilians. "The Taliban had no choice but to leave," he said. But
yesterday's attack underlined fears that reconstruction will be neither
safe nor easy. "How do you reconstruct with hostilities still going on?"
said a western official in Kandahar.
The violence could also mark a shift in Taliban tactics. A senior
official told the Guardian that Nato military intelligence had
intercepted communications from the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar,
instructing commanders to stop concentrating their forces in small areas
such as Panjwayi.
Having suffered massive losses under western aerial strikes, the Taliban
seem to be reverting to suicide attacks as a means of pressuring western
forces. Seven western soldiers, including two Americans and a Briton,
have died in suicide bombings in the past three weeks - more than the
total for the previous 12 months.
"They are resorting to these despicable tactics after the pressure we
have them under in their strongholds," said a Nato spokesman, Major Luke
Knittig.
The Taliban are also spreading the insurgency into other areas.
Yesterday Nato launched operations in western Farah province after a
string of clashes that left at least a dozen police and insurgents dead
last week.
The bombings will also refocus attention on neighbouring Pakistan. Many
western officials in Kabul believe that the Taliban leadership is based
in the western Pakistani city of Quetta, where a shura, or council of
elders, directs attacks in Afghanistan.