More Proof of al Qaeda in Afghanistan

The Taliban is now using Ford Pintos as suicide vehicles.


The Haqqani Network is not known to use suicide bombers. Not until recently, when ties between the Network and al Qaeda have been strengthened. Suicide bombing is a distinctly Arab phenomenon, not Taliban. To see the more aggressive use of suicide bombing indicates close cooperation between the militants and the global jihadists.

From ISAF (September 24, 2010):

PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – At least five insurgents were killed and one captured during a failed attack on Forward Operating Base Gardez in Patkya Province Sept. 24.

The attack began when a vehicle, followed closely by four suicide-vest-wearing insurgents, attempted to breach a fortified area of the base.
Coalition forces engaged the vehicle, destroying it and disrupting the attack. The remaining attackers were killed as they attempted to flee the scene.

In the aftermath of the incident, explosive ordnance disposal Soldiers found and disposed of the suicide vests.

Two Afghan Security Guards were wounded during the attack and an Afghan civilian employed at the base was killed. No coalition forces were killed or injured.

The operation is still ongoing with coalition forces pursuing the remainder of the attacking force, estimated to be around 20.


From the Longwar Journal (September 25, 2010):

Since the end of August, the Haqqani Network has carried out five major attacks against heavily defended US outposts in eastern Afghanistan.

On Aug. 28, Haqqani Network fighters launched coordinated attacks against Forward Operating Bases Salerno and Chapman in Khost province. US and Afghan troops routed the Haqqani Network fighters, killing more than 35, including a commander, during and after the attacks. Several of the fighters were wearing US Army uniforms, and 13 were armed with suicide vests. During raids in the aftermath of the attacks, US forces killed and captured several commanders and fighters.

On Sept. 2, the Haqqani Network attempted to storm Combat Outpost Margah in the Bermel district of Paktika province. US troops repelled the attack with mortar and small-arms fire, then called in helicopter gunships to finish off the attackers; 20 were reported killed.

And in the last attack, on Sept. 21, US troops killed 27 Haqqani Network fighters as they mustered to assault Combat Outpost Spera.

The Taliban and the Haqqani Network have launched attacks at several major installations across the country this year. In May, a small team attempted to breach security at Kandahar Airfield after launching a rocket attack on the base; another small team conducted a suicide assault at the main gate at Bagram Airbase in Parwan province. In June, the Taliban launched an assault against Jalalabad Airfield in Nangarhar province. The Taliban carried out a suicide assault against the Afghan National Civil Order Police headquarters in Kandahar City in July; three US soldiers were killed in the attack, which included a suicide car bomber and a follow-on assault team. And in early August, the Taliban again conducted a complex attack at Kandahar Airfield. All of the attacks were successfully repelled by Coalition and Afghan forces.


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