Afghanistan: Suicide Bomber Kills Nato Troops, Children Near Market

[News_Editor]

Afghanistan: Suicide bomber kills NATO troops, children near market < br />

2012-05-21 01:51:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

TARIN KOT, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of foreign troops in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing two coalition service members and two Afghan children, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said two of its service members were killed as a result of an insurgent attack in the country's south, but gave no other details such as the location and time of the attack. The nationalities of the service members involved were also not immediately released.

But police in Uruzgan province said the foreign troops were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near an ISAF convoy at a police checkpoint in Tarin Kot, the provincial capital. The powerful explosion took place near a market, killing the ISAF troops and two Afghan children. Three ISAF service members and six children were also injured, some of them seriously.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack, identifying the suicide bomber as a local resident named Nasrullah. "A martyrdom-seeking Mujahideen (Muslim fighter) of Islamic Emirate (Taliban) blew up his explosives vest in the middle of [a] foreign invaders dismounted patrol," he said.

The deaths on Sunday raise the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 162, according to official figures. A total of 566 ISAF troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2011, down from 711 in 2010. A majority of the fallen troops were American and were killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

On Friday, two ISAF service members were killed when a rocket - possibly fired by the Taliban - struck an ISAF base in the Nari district of Kunar province. "We were informed that two soldiers of ISAF were killed and six more were injured," a provincial official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

There are currently more than 130,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 90,000 U.S. troops and more than 9,500 British soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 23,000 U.S. troops by the end of this summer, and foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-05-21

[Colin Yai]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

Edited May 21, 2012 by Colin Yai

[beechguy]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

Yep, I've noticed a double standard here with these topics too.

[folium]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

Yep, I've noticed a double standard here with these topics too.

No it's just a case of holding professional soldiers to a higher standard, otherwise they become no better than the scum who murder children in the execution of their attacks. We have to be the "good guys".

[beechguy]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

Yep, I've noticed a double standard here with these topics too.

No it's just a case of holding professional soldiers to a higher standard, otherwise they become no better than the scum who murder children in the execution of their attacks. We have to be the "good guys".

No, it's the point that no comments of moral outrage are made when the Taliban intentionally attacks school girls, but heaven forbid a soldier makes a mistake.

[Cornichon88]

Yep, I've noticed a double standard here with these topics too.

It could be that the rules of moderation on this forum discourage some, including myself, to make a comment.

Everyone knows that only Westerners commit atrocious acts.

[Scott]

I beg to differ with your interpretation of the rules. I can only surmise that you are referring to this rule:

7) Not to post slurs or degrading comments directed towards any group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

The group referred to in the OP are the Taliban. It is not a religion, but more akin to a political group. The Taliban, I would guess is almost exclusively Muslim, but all Muslims aren't members or supporters of the Taliban. Therein lies the difference.

[Colin Yai]

http://www.infopleas...ot/taliban.html Just to set the record straight , I would suggest ALL read it Edited May 21, 2012 by Colin Yai

[JUDAS]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

I think your on comment holds the answer Colin. The general lack of comment, I feel, relates to the simple fact that these atrocities are "an ongoing day to day scenario" they have become the norm, the expected, nothing unusual. Our men and women in uniform conduct themselves in a professional manner under the stress of battle and, when occasionally they step outside this expected professionalism it tends to draw much more attention because it is so outside the norm for them.

[Colin Yai]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

I think your on comment holds the answer Colin. The general lack of comment, I feel, relates to the simple fact that these atrocities are "an ongoing day to day scenario" they have become the norm, the expected, nothing unusual. Our men and women in uniform conduct themselves in a professional manner under the stress of battle and, when occasionally they step outside this expected professionalism it tends to draw much more attention because it is so outside the norm for them.

Thanks for your reply Judas it is much appreciated , sad to say its my belief that If I did not start the "ball rolling" ,it would not have got a mention cos it was the Taliban who perpetrated this crime against humanity ,whilst on the other foot if Nato had killed just ONE Afghan by mistake in their war against the Taliban ,the "do gooders" would have been howling from the roof tops ,its that simple.

[folium]

Hey Up, Whats going on here! 43 views and not a word of condemnation! , Or are the condemnations strictly reserved for Nato forces when they overtly make a mistake and kill some one or is it quite OK that Innocent kids are blown to bits as long as its perpetrated by their own kind!,this inhumane act of course was no accident or mistake and is just an ongoing day to day scenario.

I think your on comment holds the answer Colin. The general lack of comment, I feel, relates to the simple fact that these atrocities are "an ongoing day to day scenario" they have become the norm, the expected, nothing unusual. Our men and women in uniform conduct themselves in a professional manner under the stress of battle and, when occasionally they step outside this expected professionalism it tends to draw much more attention because it is so outside the norm for them.

Thanks for your reply Judas it is much appreciated , sad to say its my belief that If I did not start the "ball rolling" ,it would not have got a mention cos it was the Taliban who perpetrated this crime against humanity ,whilst on the other foot if Nato had killed just ONE Afghan by mistake in their war against the Taliban ,the "do gooders" would have been howling from the roof tops ,its that simple.

You overlook a basic fact of counterinsurgency in that 1 mistake by the bad guys is just unlucky. If civilians are killed by the good guys it is equivalent to 100 horrors committed by the bad guys.

Not fair? Boo, hoo; that's how it works so a lack of professionalism like an Abu Ghraib is a disaster, a bunch of such mess ups changes the whole face of a campaign.

[Steely Dan]

You overlook a basic fact of counterinsurgency in that 1 mistake by the bad guys is just unlucky. If civilians are killed by the good guys it is equivalent to 100 horrors committed by the bad guys.

Not fair? Boo, hoo; that's how it works so a lack of professionalism like an Abu Ghraib is a disaster, a bunch of such mess ups changes the whole face of a campaign.

So who gains by this obvious double standard? Answer that and you are on the right track as to who the press serve.

[flying]

1) would these things happen if NATO & US forces were not there?

2) Why does one response here claim there is no outrage when Taliban kills kids?

Again ...why is it Taliban kills kids but US only has collateral damages?

They are the same thing & it is sad in BOTH cases.

Yet if not for #1....would #2 exist?

How so? If the bomber was seeking to blow up some troops

Using the same twisted logic the supporters of invasion use......Were the troops hiding behind kids? Using them as shields?

Of course not & I would not say so....But if it were troops targeting Taliban...of course one of the cheerleaders here would say....

Dang Taliban using kids again as shields.

We should go home.........the sooner the better........They have already said they would..........So how do we justify anymore of our

sons & daughters deaths for a cause we know we will abandon on XX/XX/XXXX date?

It all sucks equally

[Steely Dan]

1) would these things happen if NATO & US forces were not there?

2) Why does one response here claim there is no outrage when Taliban kills kids?

Again ...why is it Taliban kills kids but US only has collateral damages?

They are the same thing & it is sad in BOTH cases.

Yet if not for #1....would #2 exist?

How so? If the bomber was seeking to blow up some troops

Using the same twisted logic the supporters of invasion use......Were the troops hiding behind kids? Using them as shields?

Of course not & I would not say so....But if it were troops targeting Taliban...of course one of the cheerleaders here would say....

Dang Taliban using kids again as shields.

We should go home.........the sooner the better........They have already said they would..........So how do we justify anymore of our

sons & daughters deaths for a cause we know we will abandon on XX/XX/XXXX date?

It all sucks equally

There is no moral equivalence and there never was. If every single ISAF soldier left tomorrow Afghanistan would revert to it's 7th century status quo of stonings, floggings, amputation, acid attacks on schoolgirls, honor killings etc etc, even if the Taliban ceased to exist the situation would only be marginally better.

If our troops were given the remit of removing the Taliban completely without politicians calling it a day for electoral reasons, or the usual suspects colluding and conspiring to handicap them in every way possible then you could given time remove the foul and repugnant ideology that exists there. However as it stands the aforementioned limiting factors mean the mission was lost ages ago and in this respect alone I agree - it makes no sense whatsoever to keep any troops there for a single day more.

[Exsexyman]

1) would these things happen if NATO & US forces were not there?

2) Why does one response here claim there is no outrage when Taliban kills kids?

Again ...why is it Taliban kills kids but US only has collateral damages?

They are the same thing & it is sad in BOTH cases.

Yet if not for #1....would #2 exist?

How so? If the bomber was seeking to blow up some troops

Using the same twisted logic the supporters of invasion use......Were the troops hiding behind kids? Using them as shields?

Of course not & I would not say so....But if it were troops targeting Taliban...of course one of the cheerleaders here would say....

Dang Taliban using kids again as shields.

We should go home.........the sooner the better........They have already said they would..........So how do we justify anymore of our

sons & daughters deaths for a cause we know we will abandon on XX/XX/XXXX date?

It all sucks equally

There is no moral equivalence and there never was. If every single ISAF soldier left tomorrow Afghanistan would revert to it's 7th century status quo of stonings, floggings, amputation, acid attacks on schoolgirls, honor killings etc etc, even if the Taliban ceased to exist the situation would only be marginally better.

If our troops were given the remit of removing the Taliban completely without politicians calling it a day for electoral reasons, or the usual suspects colluding and conspiring to handicap them in every way possible then you could given time remove the foul and repugnant ideology that exists there. However as it stands the aforementioned limiting factors mean the mission was lost ages ago and in this respect alone I agree - it makes no sense whatsoever to keep any troops there for a single day more.

Not strictly true to say there never was any moral equivalence. How about the"Rogue" US soldier who went out in the middle of the night and slaughtered those Afghani children,cutting their throats. What's happened to him by the way, all gone very quiet. The incident which is being discussed here is about a suicide bomber who targeted NATO troops, where bystanders were killed. Like it or not this happens on a regular basis when NATO are doing the bombing, targeting combatants but unfortunately collateral damage occurs. NATO troops are achieving nothing in Afghanistan, it is not worth one servicemans life. Although there are some powerful people who probably appreciate the sterling work they are doing!

http://publicintelligence.net/usnato-troops-patrolling-opium-poppy-fields-in-afghanistan/

[folium]

If our troops were given the remit of removing the Taliban completely without politicians calling it a day for electoral reasons, or the usual suspects colluding and conspiring to handicap them in every way possible then you could given time remove the foul and repugnant ideology that exists there. However as it stands the aforementioned limiting factors mean the mission was lost ages ago and in this respect alone I agree - it makes no sense whatsoever to keep any troops there for a single day more.

Like so many conflict situations there is no military solution in isolation. "Removing the Taliban completely" cannot be done by force of arms alone, it needs political and economic attention to enable change to happen. Sadly ever since 2001 the goalposts and objectives in Afghanistan for ISAF have evolved and morphed into something unobtainable given political and economic realities.

It just underlines the point that military action needs to be a thought through, joined up process with clear and realistic military and political objectives. Once the main forces exit in 2014 you will probably see a continuing presence of SF, drones and other assets tasked with the targeting of terrorists.