On Thursday in one of the most peaceful cities in northern Afghanistan, assailants armed with heavy weapons and suicide vests stormed the provincial prosecutor’s office. They battled security forces for more than six hours. At least 10 people were dead and dozens wounded. The attack took place in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province, which has long been seen as a model of economic prosperity and stability. The Taliban claimed responsibility for this attack. The number of assailants remained unknown late Thursday, but the bodies of four attackers were recovered from the compound. Witnesses’ accounts cited by local news suggested
that the militants wore Afghan security force uniforms. After killing
the guards at the entrance, about 50 yards from the office of the
provincial governor, they fought their way inside the compound and took
more than a dozen lawyers and visitors hostage. The
penetration of such a highly secure area raised concerns over what is
expected to be the most bloody fighting season in more than a decade of
war. The Taliban typically escalate their attacks in the summer.
More attacks had taken place in the last few weeks. Those attacks include a bicycle bombing that on Thursday wounded 16 people in the southeastern city of Khost. Another attack in Khost
killed 17 people who had gathered outside of the offices of the
embattled provincial governor to demand his removal. Also in the last
week, at least 13 people were wounded in two attacks in the capital of
the northern province of Kunduz. Citizens are being attacked everyday
and they are afraid for their lives. Coalition forces led by the United States military have stepped back entirely from day-to-day combat operations. This has left Afghan forces severely challenged. There are more attacks that are going to take place in the future and the citizens in Afghanistan have no way to protect themselves, because most of the attacks are random.
Tamaiya Davis
April 9, 2015
8:35 pm
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