thedrifter
02-18-08, 07:11 AM
Taliban Foe May Have Been Target
Militia Commander Killed In Bombing At Dog Fight
By ALLAUDDIN KHAN And JASON STRAZIUSO
Associated Press
February 18, 2008
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan —
A prominent militia commander who had stood up to the Taliban may have been the target of a suicide bombing at a dog-fighting competition, officials said.
The commander, Abdul Hakim Jan, was among up to 80 people killed Sunday in one of the bloodiest bombings since the Taliban regime's 2001 ouster. The attack follows a year of record violence and predictions that the Afghan conflict could turn even deadlier this year.
Jan was the provincial police chief in Kandahar in the early 1990s and was the only commander in the province to oppose the Taliban during its rule, said Khalid Pashtun, a parliamentarian who represents Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold.
Several hundred people, including Afghan militia leaders, had gathered in a barren dirt field to watch the event on the western edge of the southern city of Kandahar.
Kandahar — the Taliban's former stronghold and Afghanistan's second-largest city — has been the scene of fierce battles between NATO forces, primarily from Canada and the United States, and Taliban fighters the past two years.
The province, one of the country's largest opium poppy regions, could again be a flash point in the increasingly violent Afghan conflict this year. Canada, which has 2,500 troops in Kandahar, has threatened to end its combat role in Afghanistan unless NATO countries provide an additional 1,000 troops to help the anti-Taliban drive there.
The U.S., which already has some 28,000 forces in the country, is sending an additional 3,200 Marines in April, most of whom are expected to be stationed in Kandahar during their seven-month tour.
Unlike in the U.S., where star Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his role in a dog-fighting operation, dog fights are a popular form of entertainment in Afghanistan and the fights can attract hundreds of spectators who cram into a tight circle.
Afghans place discreet wagers on the dogs, the reason the Taliban banned the sport during its 1996-2001 rule.
Fighting dogs in Afghanistan — German shepherds, bully kuttas and Afghan mastiffs — have clipped ears and tails and carry the scars of battle. The dogs do not fight to the death but rather until one dog pins another or one runs away.
Government reports of the death toll in the bombing ranged between 65 and 80.
The previous deadliest bombing in Afghanistan killed about 70 people — mostly students — in November, part of a record year of violence in 2007 that included more than 140 suicide attacks.
Ellie
Militia Commander Killed In Bombing At Dog Fight
By ALLAUDDIN KHAN And JASON STRAZIUSO
Associated Press
February 18, 2008
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan —
A prominent militia commander who had stood up to the Taliban may have been the target of a suicide bombing at a dog-fighting competition, officials said.
The commander, Abdul Hakim Jan, was among up to 80 people killed Sunday in one of the bloodiest bombings since the Taliban regime's 2001 ouster. The attack follows a year of record violence and predictions that the Afghan conflict could turn even deadlier this year.
Jan was the provincial police chief in Kandahar in the early 1990s and was the only commander in the province to oppose the Taliban during its rule, said Khalid Pashtun, a parliamentarian who represents Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold.
Several hundred people, including Afghan militia leaders, had gathered in a barren dirt field to watch the event on the western edge of the southern city of Kandahar.
Kandahar — the Taliban's former stronghold and Afghanistan's second-largest city — has been the scene of fierce battles between NATO forces, primarily from Canada and the United States, and Taliban fighters the past two years.
The province, one of the country's largest opium poppy regions, could again be a flash point in the increasingly violent Afghan conflict this year. Canada, which has 2,500 troops in Kandahar, has threatened to end its combat role in Afghanistan unless NATO countries provide an additional 1,000 troops to help the anti-Taliban drive there.
The U.S., which already has some 28,000 forces in the country, is sending an additional 3,200 Marines in April, most of whom are expected to be stationed in Kandahar during their seven-month tour.
Unlike in the U.S., where star Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his role in a dog-fighting operation, dog fights are a popular form of entertainment in Afghanistan and the fights can attract hundreds of spectators who cram into a tight circle.
Afghans place discreet wagers on the dogs, the reason the Taliban banned the sport during its 1996-2001 rule.
Fighting dogs in Afghanistan — German shepherds, bully kuttas and Afghan mastiffs — have clipped ears and tails and carry the scars of battle. The dogs do not fight to the death but rather until one dog pins another or one runs away.
Government reports of the death toll in the bombing ranged between 65 and 80.
The previous deadliest bombing in Afghanistan killed about 70 people — mostly students — in November, part of a record year of violence in 2007 that included more than 140 suicide attacks.
Ellie