Suicide attack at Afghan airport kills 9

2012-02-28 07:03:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (BNO NEWS) -- At least nine people were killed on early Monday morning when a suicide bomber hit an airport in eastern Afghanistan, apparently in retaliation for Qurans allegedly burned by U.S. troops. More than a dozen others were injured.

The attack occurred on Monday morning at the entrance of a NATO-led airfield near a highway in Jalalabad, a city in the eastern province of Nangarhar. Provincial officials said six civilians, two Afghan guards and an Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier were killed.

In addition to the fatalities, a spokesman for the governor's office said twelve people were injured in the attack, including two soldiers, one guard and nine civilians. Details about their conditions were not immediately released.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was done in retaliation for the controversial Quran burning by U.S. troops at the Bagram Airbase. As a result, a series of violent protests have been carried out in which dozens of people have been killed, including four U.S. soldiers.

"A martyr attacker of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) this morning drove up to the gates of the airport at dawn and slammed his car into the facility as the invading forces were changing from night to morning guard duty," said Mujahid, who identified the suicide attacker as local resident Mujahid Ahmadullah. "Monday's attack inflicted severe fatalities and injuries on the local puppets based nearby the facility."

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it condemns the attack in the strongest possible terms. "Our condolences go out to the families of the innocent Afghans killed in this attack, including the members of the Afghan National Security Forces who died while protecting a U.S. installation," a statement said. "We are grateful for their sacrifice. We also wish a speedy recovery to all who were injured."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-28

This is what happens when you pander to childish temper tantrums. One statement expressing regret from a mid level military commander would have sufficed instead of the POTUS making a grovelling apology. It only encourages them and is a pretext for violence not an excuse.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/27/koran-burning-and-destructive-double-standards/

The riots and violence in Afghanistan over some accidentally burned Qur’ans are following a script that by now is all too drearily familiar. As we have seen over the years with the riots over the Mohammed cartoons, Pope Benedict’s comments about violence in Islam, or false rumors of Qur’ans flushed down toilets, violent Muslim overreactions to slights are immediately followed by anxious apologies from American leaders. Rather than defusing the anger, however, such groveling merely encourages more contempt and violence.