A Taliban suicide bomber killed nine people, including women and children, in an attack today on a police checkpoint in the eastern province of Khost.
The suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at a police checkpoint near the Porozha Bridge area, killing a policeman and eight civilians. The bombing also wounded more than 40 people.
The Taliban appear to have been targeting the governor of Khost province. The attack took place about 150 meters from the governor’s house, according to Xinhua.
Today’s attack is the second against a top-level Afghan civilian leader in Khost in two weeks. On Feb. 7, Taliban assassins gunned down the governor of Bak district in Khost.
Under a directive issued by Mullah Omar in June 2010, the Taliban have responded to the Coalition and Afghan offensive in the south 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” and the Afghan government, as well as “any Afghan women who are helping or providing information to coalition forces.”
ISAF and Coalition special operations forces have hit back against the Haqqani Network, a Taliban sub-group, and the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), an allied insurgent group; both the Haqqani Network and the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin operate in Khost.
Over the past week, special operations raids have netted dozens of commanders and fighters, including a HIG military commander, a HIG facilitator, a Haqqani Network improvised explosive device cell leader and facilitator, and a Haqqani Network facilitator.
