Daily Security Brief: July 4, 2011

BAGHDIS: A border police commander was killed along with three policemen when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in northwestern Badghis province, an official said on Monday.

The incident took place in the Torghundi area of the province and resulted in the death of Rahmatullah, the border police check point commander, Col. Mohammad Jabbar, the provincial police chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

There were more than four passengers in the vehicle. Police had no information about their conditions, he said.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

— Abdul Latif Ayubi

BALKH:  An explosion targeted a police vehicle in the city of Mazar-I-Sharif Monday morning, Lal Mohamad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for police in the northern zone, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday.

He explosives planted under a culvert in the Naw Shad area of District 8 of Mazar-e-Sharif city detonated at 7:30 am Monday morning.

Ahmadzai added that there were no casualties or damage to the police vehicle.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

— Zabihullah Ihsas

HELMAND: Two local policemen and six Taliban fighters have been killed in separate incidents in the southern province of Helmand, according to official accounts.

A statment from the provincial governor’s office said that two insurgents were killed by their own bomb while attempting to plant a roadside bomb in the Omal area of Sangin district. Two more militants were killed in an airstrike by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the same area, it added.

According to the statement, two other militants were killed by an air strike in Grishk district.

 

Elsewhere, a local police officer shot dead two of his colleagues during infighting in the Marja district of southern Helmand province.

The shootout took place late on Sunday in the Sestan area. One of the dead was identified as the son of Abdul Alem, a local police commander, said District Chief Abdul Mutallib Majboor.

The killer escaped, but a search has been launched to hunt him down, he said.

A resident of the area, Noor Mohammad, said the killer was related to one of the dead officers. 

— Zainullah Stanikzai

KABUL: A would-be suicide bomber has been arrested in the Sarobi district of central Kabul province, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

Police identified and arrested the boy before he could reach his target, the Ministry said in a statement. The alleged attempted bomber had confessed to his intention of carrying out a suicide attack, the statement said, but provided no further details.

Meanwhile, the 101 Asmaee Zone Police said the suspect was a resident Kunduz province and was being interrogated.

— Mohammad Hassan Khetab

KANDAHAR: A district council member was shot dead along with a friend by unknown gunmen in the Spin Boldak border town in southern Kandahar province, the governor’s office said on Monday. Elsewhere, in the Shana Nari area of the Spin Boldak district, two militants were killed when the roadside bomb they were planting went off prematurely.

The assassination, the latest in a series of targeted killings, took place Sunday night in the district’s bazaar, the governor’s office said in a statement.

Gunmen riding on two motorcycles opened fire on Abdullah Khan, the Spin Boldak district council member, killing him and his friend, Mohammad Rasoul, a shop owner, the statement said. The gun attack happened east of the bazaar when the two were heading to their homes, the statement said. The acting police chief, Brig. Gen. Abdul Raziq, confirmed the incident, saying efforts were being made to arrest the killers.

There was no claim of responsibility for the killing, but such attacks are often blamed on the Taliban. In recent months, targeted killings and kidnappings of government officials have increased in Kandahar.

— Bashir Ahmad Naadem

LOGAR: Five missiles were fired at the governor’s office in the central province of Logar, landing on nearby buildings, the governor’s spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwesh, said Monday.

The missiles were fired from the direction of Wazir village, two kilometers from provincial capital Pul-i-Alam, he said. Four residential houses and three vehicles were damaged by the missiles.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that six missiles had landed on the governor’s office, inflicting casualties on government officials, but he had no exact figures of casualties.

— Maqsood Azizi

NANGARHAR: At least 16 Waziri militants were killed during an operation conducted by combined Afghan and international forces in eastern Nangarhar province, officials said on Monday. Elsewhere in Nangarhar, border police detained seven insurgents, eastern zone border police commander Brig. Gen. Aminullah Amarkhel said Monday.

The joint operation was launched late on Sunday in the Balalkhel area of the Khogiani district, Haji Mohammad Hassan, the district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The seven militants were detained at 7:00 am Monday crossing the border into the Jhesar area of Nazian district from Pakistan. Amarkhel said that one of those arrested had a suicide vest and the rest were heavily armed. The district chief, Mamor Essa, also confirmed the incident.

See Pajhwok’s story on the operation that resulted in the deaths of 16 insurgents.

— Abdul Moueed Hashami

NIMROZ: Five Taliban, including the group leader, were killed when they attacked a security checkpoint and were repelled by police in the Khoshrod district of south-western Nimroz province, provincial police chief Brig. General Abdul Jabar Purdili said.

The dead body of group leader Mullah Abdul Bari Barahawee, who was involved in bombing and attacks, is in the possession of police, Khashrod district chief Muhammad Hashim said. Police also seized two rocket propelled grenades and two cars.

— Ramin

PARWAN: Six people, including women and children, were killed and three more injured in a traffic accident in Qarabagh district of central Kabul province, said Qarabagh district chief Kawaja Mohammad Hanif Sediqi on Monday.

The accident occurred late Sunday on the Kabul-Mazar-I-Sharif Highway when a truck carrying flour overturned and hit another car after colliding with a sedan. He said the injured were in critical condition and had been rushed to Qarabagh hospital.

Pajhwok reports suggest that around 70 accidents have occurred on the Kabul-Mazar-I-Sharif Highway this year, leaving 30 people dead and 40 others injured.

— Farid Tanha

mrh/kg/mbg/myn/ma/at

Visits: 9