Afghan assassinations on the rise, fear of more to come

By Subel Bhandari Jul 27, 2011, 16:20 GMT

Kabul - With the killing of three senior government officials within two weeks, Afghanistan appears to be turning into a land of assassinations. And many people fear there is more to come.

Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the much-loved 65-year-old mayor of the volatile southern city of Kandahar, was killed in a suicide bomb blast in his office on Wednesday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

'The Taliban are killing Karzai's allies and those who are fiercely against the Taliban,' says security expert General Abdul Hadi Khalid. 'It has multiple benefits (for them).'

'They want to show their power. The message is clear: we can do anything to anyone who we target,' the Afghan general says, adding such attacks are a psychological victory for the Taliban.

'If the Afghan government cannot protect themselves, how can they protect the people?'

It also belies the gossip around possible peace talks, Khalid says, stating that targetted assassination undermines any efforts at reconciliation and transition.

A symbolic security transition started last week, in which security responsibility of seven geographical areas were handed over to Afghan forces, but these local forces are too weak to take over the security responsibility of the entire war-ravaged country.

More than 140,000 foreign troops led by NATO are struggling to fight an insurgency that has lasted since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

Despite claims by coalition military leaders of gaining momentum against the Taliban, especially in the south, the insurgents have been able to carry out intensified and consistent attacks across Afghanistan, including the south.

In May earlier this year, the Taliban insurgents announced the start of their spring offensive, called Operation Badar and said they would target high-ranking Afghan government officials, both military and civilian, members of the cabinet and parliamentarians.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban militants' spokesman, says the targetting of the officials will continue and increase in the months to come but there is no specific strategy of targeting Karzai allies.

'As I said whoever works with the Kabul administration is the target,' he told German Press Agency dpa.

But most of those who have been killed are people close to Karzai.

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the chief of Kandahar Provincial Council and the powerful younger half-brother of the President Karzai was assassinated by a close confidant on July 12. He was a key political broker in the Taliban heartland.

Jan Mohammad Khan, former governor of southern Uruzgan province and a senior presidential adviser was killed on July 18 in his Kabul home by two armed gunmen. Parliamentarian Mohammad Hashim Watanwal was also killed in the hit.

Mohammed Daud Daud, a senior police official responsible for eight provinces in northern Afghanistan, was killed in a Taliban bomb attack in May. He was a trusted soldier of Karzai and vehement opponent of the Taliban.

The police chief of northern Kunduz was also killed in March, while Kandahar police chief was killed in April.

Earlier this year, the Kandahar deputy governor and border police chief were killed in a suicide attack. Tribal leaders, mostly Karzai's allies, have been killed across the country.

Earlier this month, a United Nations report said 191 government officials and political figures were assassinated in the first six months of this year. It also said civilian deaths from suicide attacks increased by 52 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

No one seems to be secure in today's Afghanistan, least of all those who are in government, and former deputy interior minister Khalid says next year will be worse.

'There has been a steady deterioration in the security situation each year since 2005,' he says.

Agha Lalai Dastagiri, member of Kandahar Provincial Council and close friend of both Ahmad Wali Karzai and Hamidi said the situation in Kandahar, where NATO officials claim some gains, is worse than ever.

'Everyone like me is worried about their own safety in Kandahar,' Dastagiri says. 'No one is safe anymore anywhere.'