Taliban fail in assassination attempt at Karzai

NY Times:

President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt at a military parade in central Kabul on Sunday, when suspected Taliban insurgents fired mortars and bullets at the dignitaries assembled in the spectator stand.President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt at a military parade in central Kabul on Sunday, when suspected Taliban insurgents fired mortars and bullets at the dignitaries assembled in the spectator stand.

One person was killed and 11 injured in the incident, Gen. Zaher Azimi, a military spokesman, confirmed soon afterward. Two parliamentarians in a section of the stands not far from the president were seen falling from their chairs on television footage as gunfire rang out. Loud explosions could be heard some distance from the parade ground.

The president was whisked out of the back of the stands and quickly left the scene in a convoy of black armored vehicles as spectators scrambled for cover and security guards opened fire in every direction, witnesses said. The American ambassador, William Wood, also left unharmed, a spokesman told news agencies. Afghan state television, which was showing the ceremony live, cut off its coverage as people fled the scene.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said that it had disrupted the ceremony to show that it could carry out an attack anywhere in Afghanistan. “We cannot say Afghanistan is free. Afghanistan is still under the domination of infidels. This ceremony being held by Mujahadeen is baseless,” Zabiullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, said when contacted by telephone.

Mr. Karzai has survived at least three previous assassination attempts, but this was the first time there had been an attempt on him in the capital.

He appeared on television within an hour of the attack and told the country that everything was fine.

"The enemy of Afghanistan, the enemy of the security and development of Afghanistan, tried to disrupt the celebration and tried to create fear," he said. "Fortunately, the Afghan security forces surrounded them and some of the suspects were arrested, and, thank God, now everything is all right and the people of Afghanistan should be calm and confident."

...

This is a demonstration of the cockroach nature of the Taliban. They can still make a mess, but they can't take over a house. This will stop when there movement is destroyed in the next few years. They are losing control of what parts of the country they had and they will be losing more control of the poppy crops this year as Afghans turned to more profitable food crops.

CNN has an updated report on the failed attempt. "A lawmaker, tribal leader and 10-year-old child were killed...." This suggest that someone smuggled a weapon into the ceremony and just fired wildly rather than a carefully orchestrated plot. The Taliban are not known for well planed strategies on the battle field either. Their ambushes in recent years have usually led to significant casualties on their side and minimal ones on our side. Like a cockroach they are determined but not very smart.

The Long War Journal has more on the attack.