13 dead as Taliban car bomber hits CIA-funded Afghan militia
KHOST, Afghanistan: A Taliban car bomber killed 13 people in Afghanistan’s Khost city on Saturday, in the first major attack at the start of the holy month of Ramadan that targeted a militia group funded by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
It is the latest in a series of assaults on Western-backed forces as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive and the insurgency expands more than 15 years after they were ousted from power in a US-led invasion.
The powerful explosion in the eastern Afghan city, which also wounded six people including children, left the crowded area littered with charred debris and the twisted and mangled wreckage of vehicles.
“A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 13 people,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.
“The target was a public bus station which was hit by the bombing. The victims were in civilian clothes and it is difficult to verify their identities.”
But Faizullah Ghairat, provincial police chief, said the victims were civilians and members of the elite Khost Provincial Force (KPF) — known to be paid and equipped by the American CIA.
“The bombing took place early morning when KPF members were heading to work,” Ghairat said.
The KPF, estimated to have around 4,000 fighters, is believed to be operating a shadow war against the Taliban in a province that borders Pakistan and is accused of torture and extrajudicial killings.
The brazen attack, claimed by the Taliban on their website, comes just a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when insurgents attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major assault this week on the military in the southern province.
The attack in Shah Wali Kot district followed insurgent raids earlier this week on military bases in the same area and Maiwand district, bringing the death toll among Afghan troops in Kandahar to around 60.
The battlefield losses mark a stinging blow for Afghan forces and have raised concerns about their capacity to beat back the resurgent Taliban.
Afghan forces are beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and “ghost soldiers” who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraud- ulent commanders.
During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help.
The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Westernbacked government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks.