Taliban suicide bomber kills 6 US and 2 Afghan troops in south

A Taliban suicide bomber killed six US soldiers and two Afghan troops in a suicide attack today that targeted a newly established outpost in a region of Kandahar known as the “heart of darkness.” The Taliban claimed it carried out the attack.

The suicide bomber detonated a minibus packed with explosives at the gate of a small combat outpost manned by US and Afghan troops in the town of Sangsar in the district of Zhari in Kandahar province. The suicide bomber was able to get past Afghan soldiers who were manning the outer perimeter.

The blast leveled the wall of a mud-brick home where the US and Afghan troops were building a new base in the village, according to The New York Times. The building collapsed on the soldiers, killing them and wounding more than a dozen US and Afghan troops.

The Taliban claimed the attack on its website, Voice of Jihad. The Taliban said that the suicide bomber, who was identified as Ahmadullah, detonated more than two tons of explosives as the US and Afghan troops were fortifying their positions.

The attack was carried out by the Mullah Dadullah Mahaz, or Mullah Dadullah Front, a wing of the Taliban in the south that is closest to al Qaeda, a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal. The Mullah Dadullah Front is led by none other than Mullah Adbul Qayoum Zakir, the former Guantanamo Bay detainee who has since been promoted as the Taliban’s top military commander. On Dec. 4, Coalition and Afghan special operations troops captured a senior Mullah Dadullah Front financier and weapons facilitator.

Today’s suicide attack is the third such bombing in Kandahar in two days. Also today, a suicide bomber wounded eight Afghan troops after detonating his car bomb in Jalai. Yesterday, a suicide bomber wounded five policemen and a civilian in an attack in Kandahar city.

ISAF has launched major operations over the past several months in the Taliban stronghold districts of Arghandab, Panjwai, and Zhari. Prior to these operations, the Taliban had been in full control of these districts for the past several years.

ISAF believes that the operations, combined with its targeted campaign against mid- and top-level Taliban leaders, have put the Taliban in the south in disarray.

The Taliban have suffered heavy losses in a series of special operations nationwide. Over the past six months, more than 600 Taliban and allied terrorist groups’ leaders have been killed or captured, 2,000 fighters have been killed, and another 4,100 have been captured [see LWJ report, Special operations forces deal blows to Taliban ranks].

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

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6 Comments

  • Charu says:

    Good grief! RIP.

  • ArneFufkin says:

    The suicide bomber was able to get past Afghan soldiers who were manning the outer perimeter.
    —————————————————————-
    Not good.

  • Sportsisfun says:

    “The Mullah Dadullah Front is led by none other than Mullah Adbul Qayoum Zakir, the former Guantanamo Bay detainee who has since been promoted as the Taliban’s top military commander.”
    Why did they let this guy go loose?

  • alexander says:

    I don’t get it, why are we relearning the Marine barracks attack in Lebanon over and over again? How can any vehicle other than American military get anywhere near our troops? It is painful enough reading about casualties during sweep and patrol operations, it is numbing to hear of casualties on American bases/outposts!

  • JRP says:

    Alexander and I shared the same thought . . . The Marine Barracks suicide truck bombing in Lebanon. Now that was quite a few years ago, 1983 I believe, but what about the FOB Chapman attack? That one year anniversary is coming up on 12/30. It should still be fresh in everyone’s memory. The only way they got through this time is because the outer perimeter was guarded strictly by Afghan forces, so I’m lead to believe. Undoubtedly these or some of these guards were bribed or were moles. There’s been so much duplicity on the parts of so-called allies of ours, such as the Pakistanis and the Afghan Army people, that in dealing with the Afghans, for instance, we should have Communist-style “minders” who hover over them to make sure they are not knifing us in the back.

  • Al says:

    JRP..Right on Target.
    Incompetence and treachery hallmarks of a place like Afghanistan.
    A good friend who worked for State Dept. and lived all over the world, said the most treacherous people he met were Greeks. This may change his mind, when he goes to Afghanistan.

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