Conley
03-13-2012, 09:22 AM
Militants riding motorcycles on Tuesday attacked an Afghan government delegation visiting the village where an American soldier is accused of killing 16 people in a door-to-door rampage, puncturing the calm that had largely prevailed in Afghanistan since the killings. At least one Afghan soldier was killed in Tuesday’s attack, which came two days after the shooting spree that further stoked the already deep anti-American sentiment in the country.
The assailants struck around 11:30 a.m. just as a memorial service for those killed in the Panjwai district of Kandahar Province was coming to an end, said Adubl Rahim Ayobi, a member of Parliament from the province. The death of the Afghan soldier was confirmed by Gen. Abdul Raziq, the Kandahar provincial police chief, who added that two other people were wounded, including an Afghan military prosecutor.
The notables attending the ceremony, including two of President Karzai’s brothers, appeared to escape unharmed. “A few bullets landed in the vicinity of the area where the delegation was sitting,” Mr. Ayobi said in a telephone interview as he made his way back to Kandahar City, the provincial capital. “The security forces repelled the attack and are chasing the insurgents.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/world/asia/militants-attack-afghan-delegation-at-site-of-killing-spree.html
The situation is destabilizing as news of the attacks spread. They are burning effigies of Obama in the street. Washington is talking about speeding up the withdrawal even while military commanders want to stay.
The assailants struck around 11:30 a.m. just as a memorial service for those killed in the Panjwai district of Kandahar Province was coming to an end, said Adubl Rahim Ayobi, a member of Parliament from the province. The death of the Afghan soldier was confirmed by Gen. Abdul Raziq, the Kandahar provincial police chief, who added that two other people were wounded, including an Afghan military prosecutor.
The notables attending the ceremony, including two of President Karzai’s brothers, appeared to escape unharmed. “A few bullets landed in the vicinity of the area where the delegation was sitting,” Mr. Ayobi said in a telephone interview as he made his way back to Kandahar City, the provincial capital. “The security forces repelled the attack and are chasing the insurgents.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/world/asia/militants-attack-afghan-delegation-at-site-of-killing-spree.html
The situation is destabilizing as news of the attacks spread. They are burning effigies of Obama in the street. Washington is talking about speeding up the withdrawal even while military commanders want to stay.