Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Another Car Bomb in Kabul, Afghanistan
Bomb attack kills 7 in Kabul; UN staff among dead
AP – Injured Afghan men leave the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday … By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Fisnik Abrashi, Associated Press Writer – 25 mins ago
KABUL – A suicide car bomb attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding more than 50 people, officials said. Afghans working for the United Nations were among the dead and wounded.
The attack occurred two days before national elections in which Afghans are to select a new president. The Taliban have denounced the election and warned people they would be at risk if they go to polling stations. Hours before the suicide blast, two mortar rounds struck near the presidential palace in Kabul, the U.S. military said.
NATO announced Tuesday that its forces would refrain from offensive military operations on election day and would undertake missions only if they were "deemed necessary to protect the population."
The suicide attack on the road, close to a British military base, killed seven civilians and wounded 50, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said.
NATO said "reports indicate" that both Afghan civilians and NATO troops "were killed and wounded in the blast" near a NATO convoy. The statement did not elaborate.
The head of the U.N. mission to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said in a statement that two U.N. staff members were killed and one was wounded. All were Afghans, he said. It was not clear if the U.N. dead were included in the ministry's toll.
British troops were guarding the site of the explosion as rescuers rushed the wounded to hospitals. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw British soldiers collecting what appeared to be body parts from the roof of an Afghan home.
About a dozen private vehicles were destroyed near the road where the attack happened. People used their hands to dig through the rubble of damaged buildings. Families carried the wounded away from the scene.
U.S., NATO and Afghan security forces are on high alert this week because of the Thursday vote. President Hamid Karzai is favored to win but faces a stiff challenge from former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. About three dozen candidates are in the race.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber struck the gates of an Afghan army base in the southern province of Uruzgan, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians, provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat said.
U.S. military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias had no details of damage or casualties from the attack on the presidential compound.
Neither Karzai or anyone else was wounded in the attack, said deputy presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi. He said the rounds probably hit "somewhere around the compound," but he had no further details.
Attacks in Afghanistan have risen steadily the last three years. In a speech Monday in Phoenix, President Barack Obama said U.S. troops would help secure polling places so that the elections can go forward and Afghans can choose their own future.
Obama said peace in Afghanistan "will not be quick" and "will not be easy." He added that the United States still has a deep interest in the long-term outcome.
"This is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people," Obama said.
AP – Injured Afghan men leave the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in on the outskirts of Kabul on Tuesday … By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Fisnik Abrashi, Associated Press Writer – 25 mins ago
KABUL – A suicide car bomb attacked a NATO convoy Tuesday on the outskirts of Kabul, killing at least seven civilians and wounding more than 50 people, officials said. Afghans working for the United Nations were among the dead and wounded.
The attack occurred two days before national elections in which Afghans are to select a new president. The Taliban have denounced the election and warned people they would be at risk if they go to polling stations. Hours before the suicide blast, two mortar rounds struck near the presidential palace in Kabul, the U.S. military said.
NATO announced Tuesday that its forces would refrain from offensive military operations on election day and would undertake missions only if they were "deemed necessary to protect the population."
The suicide attack on the road, close to a British military base, killed seven civilians and wounded 50, a statement from the Ministry of Interior said.
NATO said "reports indicate" that both Afghan civilians and NATO troops "were killed and wounded in the blast" near a NATO convoy. The statement did not elaborate.
The head of the U.N. mission to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said in a statement that two U.N. staff members were killed and one was wounded. All were Afghans, he said. It was not clear if the U.N. dead were included in the ministry's toll.
British troops were guarding the site of the explosion as rescuers rushed the wounded to hospitals. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw British soldiers collecting what appeared to be body parts from the roof of an Afghan home.
About a dozen private vehicles were destroyed near the road where the attack happened. People used their hands to dig through the rubble of damaged buildings. Families carried the wounded away from the scene.
U.S., NATO and Afghan security forces are on high alert this week because of the Thursday vote. President Hamid Karzai is favored to win but faces a stiff challenge from former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. About three dozen candidates are in the race.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber struck the gates of an Afghan army base in the southern province of Uruzgan, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians, provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat said.
U.S. military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias had no details of damage or casualties from the attack on the presidential compound.
Neither Karzai or anyone else was wounded in the attack, said deputy presidential spokesman Hamid Elmi. He said the rounds probably hit "somewhere around the compound," but he had no further details.
Attacks in Afghanistan have risen steadily the last three years. In a speech Monday in Phoenix, President Barack Obama said U.S. troops would help secure polling places so that the elections can go forward and Afghans can choose their own future.
Obama said peace in Afghanistan "will not be quick" and "will not be easy." He added that the United States still has a deep interest in the long-term outcome.
"This is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people," Obama said.
Rockets in the Morning
At 7 am this morning I heard 2 explosions and went to the bunker. A few minutes later they gave us the all clear. See the attached news article:
Kabul, Aug 18: Just two days before the presidential elections, a rocket hit the presidential palace in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul on Tuesday, Aug 18. However, no on were hurt in the attack, say the police.
Two rockets were fired into the Afghan capital. While the first strike caused heavy damage to the presidential palace, the second strike was aimed at the main police headquarters near the palace.
Kabul, Aug 18: Just two days before the presidential elections, a rocket hit the presidential palace in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul on Tuesday, Aug 18. However, no on were hurt in the attack, say the police.
Two rockets were fired into the Afghan capital. While the first strike caused heavy damage to the presidential palace, the second strike was aimed at the main police headquarters near the palace.
Monday, August 17, 2009
All Quiet on the Eastern Front
It has been quiet here the past few days but the word out is that it is about to change. Tha Taliban wants to disrupt the elections. I am keeping my head low and making sure I know where all the bunkers are so if I need to make a dash for one I'll know where it is.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Life in the Bunker
When the bomb went off this morning at 8:35 am, everyone looked at each other and we all agreed we should head for the bunker outside our building. The walls and windows shook from the blast. The alarm didn't go off till we were already in the bunker. we stayed there for around 40 minutes till they gave the all clear. You could look outside our bathroom and see the plumb from the bomb. Reports say the bomb was either 600 or 1,100 lbs.
Several of the guys in my office live in the safe houses near the US Embassy and ISAF headquarters. One guy's windows were all blown out from the blast. He lives around 1 block away from the ISAF Building.
I must say the Taliban are making my stay here interesting.
Bombing in Kabul at ISAF
Bomb kills 7, hurts 91 at NATO HQ in Kabul
Militant evades several rings of Afghan police to reach heavily guarded site
Aug. 15, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomb exploded outside the main gate of the NATO-led military mission Saturday, killing seven Afghans and wounding 91 in an attack that penetrated a heavily guarded neighborhood five days before the country's presidential election.
The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives at the doorstep to the international military headquarters, an assault possibly aimed at sending the message that the Taliban can attack anywhere as Afghans gear up for their second-ever direct presidential election. Militants have warned Afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack voting sites.
The NATO headquarters — where top commander U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is based — sits beside the U.S. Embassy and shares the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.
Afganistan has braced for attacks ahead of the election. International workers in the country were planning on working from home over the next week or had been encouraged to leave the country. U.S., NATO and Afghan troops were working to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.
Children wounded Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after Saturday's blast, which rattled the capital and sent a black plume of smoke skyward. Children — many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners — were among the wounded. Windows of nearby antique shops were shattered and blood smeared the ground.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy some 150 yards down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.
Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the 8:35 a.m. blast. He did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30 yards from NATO's front gate, he said. Pointing to the civilian casualties, Tremblay said the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians."
Afghan security forces stopped the vehicle in front of NATO headquarters, and then the bomber detonated the explosives, Tremblay said.
"The security measures in place have stopped cold the bombers as planned," he said, calling the latest attack an example of the "residual risk" that remains despite the safety measures taken. "It's very difficult to stop a suicide bomber."
The blast killed seven Afghans and wounded 91, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.
Four Afghan soldiers and Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager for women, were among the wounded, the ministry said.
"I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened," said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who sustained leg injuries. "I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians."
Al-Qaida link?
The chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 600 pounds of explosives were used, and that because of the amount he suspected al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the blast and said the bomb contained 1,100 pounds of explosives. Mujahid at first said the bomber was on foot, then later called back and said it was a suicide car bomb attack.
The attack falls in line with increasingly spectacular and sophisticated strikes carried out by Afghanistan militants. The Taliban have carried out several coordinated attacks in the last several months with multiple teams of insurgents assaulting government sites. Military analysts have said the increased sophistication comes from training by al-Qaida operatives.
NATO headquarters has several large, cement blocks and steel gates that prevent anyone from reaching the entrance, and the bomber was not able to breach those barriers. Afghanistan's Transportation Ministry lies across the street from NATO headquarters.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out Saturday's attack.
A driver from the nearby Defense Ministry said he took at least 12 people to the hospital. Most were seriously wounded, said the driver, who spoke to an Associated Press reporter at the scene but didn't want to give his name because of safety concerns.
Kabul has been relatively quiet over the last half year, though militants have launched a barrage of rockets into the capital this month, most of which landed harmlessly in open spaces.
Security has increased over the last several weeks in preparation for Thursday's vote.
Militant evades several rings of Afghan police to reach heavily guarded site
Aug. 15, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomb exploded outside the main gate of the NATO-led military mission Saturday, killing seven Afghans and wounding 91 in an attack that penetrated a heavily guarded neighborhood five days before the country's presidential election.
The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives at the doorstep to the international military headquarters, an assault possibly aimed at sending the message that the Taliban can attack anywhere as Afghans gear up for their second-ever direct presidential election. Militants have warned Afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack voting sites.
The NATO headquarters — where top commander U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is based — sits beside the U.S. Embassy and shares the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.
Afganistan has braced for attacks ahead of the election. International workers in the country were planning on working from home over the next week or had been encouraged to leave the country. U.S., NATO and Afghan troops were working to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.
Children wounded Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after Saturday's blast, which rattled the capital and sent a black plume of smoke skyward. Children — many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners — were among the wounded. Windows of nearby antique shops were shattered and blood smeared the ground.
The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy some 150 yards down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.
Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the 8:35 a.m. blast. He did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30 yards from NATO's front gate, he said. Pointing to the civilian casualties, Tremblay said the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians."
Afghan security forces stopped the vehicle in front of NATO headquarters, and then the bomber detonated the explosives, Tremblay said.
"The security measures in place have stopped cold the bombers as planned," he said, calling the latest attack an example of the "residual risk" that remains despite the safety measures taken. "It's very difficult to stop a suicide bomber."
The blast killed seven Afghans and wounded 91, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.
Four Afghan soldiers and Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager for women, were among the wounded, the ministry said.
"I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened," said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who sustained leg injuries. "I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians."
Al-Qaida link?
The chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 600 pounds of explosives were used, and that because of the amount he suspected al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the blast and said the bomb contained 1,100 pounds of explosives. Mujahid at first said the bomber was on foot, then later called back and said it was a suicide car bomb attack.
The attack falls in line with increasingly spectacular and sophisticated strikes carried out by Afghanistan militants. The Taliban have carried out several coordinated attacks in the last several months with multiple teams of insurgents assaulting government sites. Military analysts have said the increased sophistication comes from training by al-Qaida operatives.
NATO headquarters has several large, cement blocks and steel gates that prevent anyone from reaching the entrance, and the bomber was not able to breach those barriers. Afghanistan's Transportation Ministry lies across the street from NATO headquarters.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out Saturday's attack.
A driver from the nearby Defense Ministry said he took at least 12 people to the hospital. Most were seriously wounded, said the driver, who spoke to an Associated Press reporter at the scene but didn't want to give his name because of safety concerns.
Kabul has been relatively quiet over the last half year, though militants have launched a barrage of rockets into the capital this month, most of which landed harmlessly in open spaces.
Security has increased over the last several weeks in preparation for Thursday's vote.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)