Friday, February 26, 2010

Taliban Suicide Bomber Teams Hit Kabul, Target Indian Nationals, 17 Killed


Teams of Taliban suicide bombers hit Afghanistan's capital of Kabul today and the aftermath saw a total of 17 killed including 5 Indian nationals and two Kabul policemen.

From the article at The Long War Journal:


A Taliban suicide assault team struck in the heart of a Afghanistan's capital, killing 17 people.
Several suicide bombers begun their attack in the early morning at a guesthouse used by Indian Nationals that is located close to the Kabul City Center, a shopping mall, and the Safi Landmark hotel.
One of the suicide bombers is said to have detonated outside of a guesthouse used by Indian nationals, which is thought to be the main target of the attack. Five Indian nationals are among those confirmed to have been killed, Quqnoos reported.
Another suicide bomber detonated outside the Safi Landmark. The building was damaged in the attack. Other members of the suicide assault team then entered the shopping center and were engaged by Afghan police. Fighting was reported for more than two hours after the attack began. Two Afghan policemen were killed in the gunfight.
The Taliban took credit for the attack.

Two things to mention about these attacks - first. it's no coincidence that these suicide bomb attacks took place at the very time that the U.S. and NATO has the big operation going on in Marjah. The Taliban want to show the world that they can hit anywhere in Afghanistan and even in what should be the safest place in the country. And secondly, the Taliban are obviously trying to lure India into some sort of response inside of Afghanistan. This is not the first targeting of Indians in Kabul and not the first case of Indian nationals being killed by the Taliban.

It's all a bit too familiar in that the Taliban seem to be mimicking the efforts of al Qaeda in Iraq which tried to lure Shias and Sunnis into a bloody civil war...well, here in Afghanistan, the Taliban would love to see forces of India get engaged in the Afghan War which would then draw Pakistan into the mix and perhaps cause the Taliban in Pakistan to come off the most wanted list there.

But at the same time, do the Taliban REALLY want India in this thing? One thing is for sure, I doubt that India would install the kind of ROE that are currently in place for U.S. and NATO forces and with the world's second largest army, India might just have enough troops to simply flood the Taliban out of the country.



Suicide assault teams target foreigners in Afghan capital


A Taliban suicide assault team struck in the heart of a Afghanistan's capital, killing 17 people.

Several suicide bombers begun their attack in the early morning at a guesthouse used by Indian Nationals that is located close to the Kabul City Center, a shopping mall, and the Safi Landmark hotel.

One of the suicide bombers is said to have detonated outside of a guesthouse used by Indian nationals, which is thought to be the main target of the attack. Five Indian nationals are among those confirmed to have been killed, Quqnoos reported.

Another suicide bomber detonated outside the Safi Landmark. The building was damaged in the attack. Other members of the suicide assault team then entered the shopping center and were engaged by Afghan police. Fighting was reported for more than two hours after the attack began. Two Afghan policemen were killed in the gunfight.

The Taliban took credit for the attack.

Today's attack closely follows the pattern of a series of Taliban and Haqqani network strikes in Afghanistan's cities since January 2008. The Taliban have been targeting ministry buildings, security installations, the Indian Embassy, hotels, guesthouses, and shopping centers.

The last such attack, on Jan. 18, took place at a central square where the presidential palace, the Justice Ministry, and the Central Bank are located. Fighting spread to the Serena Hotel, the Grand Afghan shopping center, and a movie theater. Seven Taliban fighters, three soldiers, and two civilians were killed in the fighting.

Another attack, on Oct. 24, 2009, targeted a UN guesthouse in Kabul. The assault team killed five foreign UN workers and three Afghans before Afghan police killed the attackers.

Similar attacks have taken place in Pakistan's major cities, as well as in Mumbai, India. The Mumbai attack was the most deadly, with more than 170 people killed as the Lashkar-e-Taiba assault teams were able to shut down the city for more than 60 hours.

Today's terror assault took place as India and Pakistan conducted the first high-level talks since the Mumbai assault, which was carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. India has insisted that Pakistan rein in terrorist groups operating on its soil. Pakistan

"We have suffered many, many hundreds of Mumbais," Pakistani Foreign Minister Salman Bashir said after the meeting. "We have lost a great number of civilians. Pakistan does not believe that India should lecture us and demand Pakistan does this or that. That is not how inter-state relations are conducted."

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