Suicide bomber kills 10 in attack on northwestern Afghan leader

A teen-aged suicide bomber killed 10 Afghans in an attack at a bazaar in the northern province Faryab. The suicide bomber targeted a senior political leader in the province, who was seriously wounded in the attack.

Afghan police said a 16-year-old boy detonated his vest at a crowded bazaar in Faryab’s Khoja Sabz Posh district. Mullah Rahmatullah Turkistani, the chief of Faryab’s provincial council, was present and was among the more than 30 people wounded.

The Taliban, under a directive issued by Mullah Omar, have responded to the Coalition and Afghan offensive with a campaign of violence and intimidation. Taliban fighters have been directed to “capture and kill any Afghan who is supporting and/or working for coalition forces or the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” as well as “any Afghan women who are helping or providing information to coalition forces.”

The Taliban, in conjunction with al Qaeda affiliates such as the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, have stepped up attacks in the north as Coalition and Afghan forces have focused on operations in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. The northwestern provinces of Badghis, Faryab, Jawzjan, and Sar-i-Pul are estimated to have thousands of Taliban fighters sheltering in the region.

Sar-i-Pul, which previously was a peaceful district, is now estimated to have 500-600 Taliban fighters present, “among them some Arab, Uzbek and Pakistani militants,” Reuters reported. The Taliban and their allies are establishing bases and stashing weapons in the district of Kohestanat.

Coalition and Afghan forces have stepped up operations against the Taliban in Faryab and neighboring Badghis province. Coalition forces killed Qari Ziauddin, the shadow governor for Faryab province, in a “precision airstrike” on Oct. 5.

On Oct. 9, a combined Coalition and Afghan special operations team killed Mullah Jamaluddin, who was described by the International Security Assistance Force as “one of the possible candidates to become the new shadow governor for Badghis.”

Jamaluddin was in the running to succeed Mullah Ismail, the Taliban’s shadow governor of Badghis province who was killed along with Abdul Hakim, a senior military commander, during a raid on Oct. 6. Jamaluddin “facilitated the improvised explosive device and weapons movement throughout Badghis province,” ISAF stated.

Sources:

• Teenage suicide bomber kills 10 in Afghanistan, Reuters

• Suicide Bomber Kills At Least Nine In Afghanistan, RFE/RL

• Mullah Omar orders Taliban to attack civilians, Afghan women, The Long War Journal

• Taliban foothold grows in Afghan north: governor, Reuters

• Senior Taliban leader killed in raid in Afghan northwest, The Long War Journal

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags: Afghanistan, etip, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan