The attack Came as the American military issued a grim Confirmation of the war'S toll on the Afghan Security forces, Saying that Casualties among Afghan soldiers and police officers had risen by almost a third in 2015, Compared with a record casualty rate in 2014 that some officials then
considered unsustainable.
Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for rhe Afghan Interior Ministry, said the attack on Monday happened near the gate of the National Civil Order Police.
Witnesses said the bomber had walked up to a line ofvisitors waiting for a security check and detonated his explosives.
A statement from a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Muiahid, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bomber had targetexl the complex as a large group Of police officers Was leaving.
A police officer who witnessed the suicide bombing near a police complex in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday talks about the Taliban attack, which killed at least 20 officers.
Dozens of police officers cordoned off the sidewalk at the site of the bombing. But the main road, one of the busiest in Kabul, stayed open to traffic. Human remains were still visible even after firefighters hosed down the area.
"You see that tree? The branches are covered in flesh and blood," said Ahmad Parwiz, who sells fried dough across the street from the National
Civil Order Police. "There Were a lot Of Visitors queued up to go inside When the explosion happened. Thank Cod We weren't hurt on this Side Of the road."
Intense Taliban Offensives this Winter, including the String Of in Kabul, have Afghan and Western Officials increasingly worried about the pressure on the Afghan security forces.
Col. Michael T, Lawhorn, a spokesman for NATO and United States forces in Afghanistan, said the casualties of Afghan forces through 2015 were 28 percent higher than in the previous year. Colonel Lawhorn, who would not go into details about the new casualty report, said a difficult year for
Afghan forces had long been expected because they were carrying responsibility for a "significantly increased operational tempo" last year, after the end of the NATO combat mission.
An Afghan official briefed on the matter put the number of casualties last year at close to 16,011) soldiers and police officers, With more than 5,000 killed. Even those numbers seemed low, considering that 4,100 "ere killed in the first six months141 of 2015, and the righting greatly intensified in the last six months of the year.
Gen_ Daw at Vv'aziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, declined to specify the number Of soldiers killed. He referred to the ministry's dai y news releases, which Often include reports Of the days casualties.
"All I can say is that compared to 2014, the casualties in 2015 were more," General Waziri said.
In the district of Deh Rawoad in southern Oruzgan Province, where the police have long complained of a lack of equipmentlSl and ammunition while practically under siege, four security checkpcnnts were abandoned by the police and later burned down by the Taliban, according to
Mohammad Karim Khadimzai, head of the Oruzgan provincial council. Around SO police officers deserted their posts in Deh and arrived in Tirin Kot, the provincial capital.
xThe reason for deserting their WStS, the police said, is a lack Of ammunition despite frequently asking headquarters for supplies," Mr. Khadimzai But the provincial police Chief has rejected that Claim, saying the reason for the officers' desertion was that the FOSt'S had been fired
recently Over complaints from loca residents that he had mistreated them. Chief said the police Officers who had deserted their posts were under investigation.
Dost Mohammad Nayab, a spokesman for the provincial governor, denied that the posts had been burned down by the Taliban, and said new forces had arrived to fill the vacuum.
The recent increase in urban attacks by the Taliban, in addition to a territory-gobbling offensive across the country, has coincided with international efforts to restart peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan gmernment. After a brief surge of progress last year, the effort stalled in July after it was revealed that the Taliban's leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had die-CIF I in 2013.
Officials from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States are expected to meet for a third time soon to discuss a plan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
Response:
This article is reporting the Taliban attack that occurred in Afghanistan, near a part of this city that was bulk police departments. It seems that this attack was to remind the Afghanistan officials that they are still active and willing to do whatever they see fit in fight of their own beliefs. This article is bias towards the US since it is written, published and broadcasted there, and is not only giving the Taliban a negative connotation but also Afghanistan in general. They seem to be deteriorating the police force and government there. I believe that this article gives good information of this attack, but I do not find it necessary to negatively speak of Afghanistan as a whole.
Mashal, Mujib.
"Taliban Bombing Kills at Least 20 at Kabul Police Station." New York Times. N.p., 1 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Feb.
2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/world/asia/afghanistan-kabul-suicide-bombing-taliban.html?_r=1>.
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