Taliban intensify bridge-bombing campaign

PUL-I-ALAM (PAN-Gardez highway over the past month.

A resident of Sabari district in southeastern Khost province, Nasim Gul, said he observed the bridges had been comprehensively destroyed.

He added passengers and drivers faced numerous problems crossing the destroyed bridges. It was against Islam and a great betrayal of the nation destroying national assets, he remarked.

A dweller of the Safaid Sang village of Mohammad Agha district, Abdul Rauf, said bridges on the road had been blown up in the past as well, but they were later rebuilt.

The 30-year-old said currently there was no bridge on the route that has not been blown up. He added the Taliban aimed to target convoys of foreign troops, but instead they created problems for passengers and drivers.

A Kolangar area resident near Pul-i-Alam, the capital of central Logar province, Syed Fawad, said the Taliban had launched a massive campaign to destroy bridges on roads.

He accused Pakistan of involvement in destruction of bridges, saying the neighbouring country could not see Afghan roads being paved and constructed.

He urged security organs to protect bridges from being destroyed and warned against any lethargic approach in this regard; otherwise all paved roads would be devastated.

Logar Public Works Director Abdul Baqi Stanikzai said the Taliban used to plant mines beneath bridges at night and detonate them in daytime. He confirmed commuters and drivers faced problems due to damaged bridges.

His department planned to reconstruct the links, the official said, asking the departments concerned to ensure security for key highways and establish posts in insecure parts.

Deputy police chief Col. Raees Khan Sadiq said the enemies of Afghanistan were destroying the country’s infrastructure to please their foreign masters.

He said police were trying to maintain security on highways but insurgents carried out their destructive activities at night.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said their aim was not to destroy bridges, but to inflict casualties on the enemy.

The fighters planted mines under bridges to target Afghan and foreign troops, he explained, saying almost every blast had resulted in heavy casualties.

Bridges on roads in various districts have also been destroyed, a campaign gaining momentum in most parts of the country.

ma/mud

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