Suicide attacks mark Hagel visit
Source: Agencies |
March 10, 2013, Sunday
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MILITANTS staged two deadly suicide attacks yesterday to mark the first full day of US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's visit to Afghanistan, a fresh reminder that insurgents continue to fight and challenges remain as the US-led NATO force hands over the country's security to the Afghans.
A suicide bomber on a bicycle struck outside the Afghan Defense Ministry early yesterday morning, and about a half hour later another suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint in Khost city, capital of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan.
Nine people were killed in the bombing at the ministry, and an Afghan policeman and eight civilians, mostly children, died in the blast in Khost, a provincial spokesman said.
"This attack was a message to him," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said of Hagel, in an email to reporters about the defense ministry attack.
Hagel was nowhere near the blasts, but heard them across the city. He told reporters that he wasn't sure what it was when he heard the explosion.
"We're in a war zone. I've been in war, so shouldn't be surprised when a bomb goes off or there's an explosion," said Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran.
Asked what his message to the Taliban would be, he said that the US was going to continue to work with its allies to insure that the Afghan people have the ability to develop their own country and democracy.
After the blast in Kabul, the defense secretary flew to Bagram Air Base near Kabul for meetings with commanders.
The blasts underscore the challenges facing Afghanistan as US-led NATO forces prepare to leave by the end of 2014.
Hagel's first visit to Kabul as Pentagon chief comes as the US and Afghanistan grapple with a number of disputes, from the aborted handover of a main detention facility - canceled at the last moment late Friday as a deal for the transfer broke down - to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's demand that US special operations forces withdraw from Wardak province just outside Kabul over allegations of abuse.
Barack Obama last month announced the withdrawal of 34,000 American troops - about half the total deployment - by early next year.
A suicide bomber on a bicycle struck outside the Afghan Defense Ministry early yesterday morning, and about a half hour later another suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint in Khost city, capital of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan.
Nine people were killed in the bombing at the ministry, and an Afghan policeman and eight civilians, mostly children, died in the blast in Khost, a provincial spokesman said.
"This attack was a message to him," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said of Hagel, in an email to reporters about the defense ministry attack.
Hagel was nowhere near the blasts, but heard them across the city. He told reporters that he wasn't sure what it was when he heard the explosion.
"We're in a war zone. I've been in war, so shouldn't be surprised when a bomb goes off or there's an explosion," said Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran.
Asked what his message to the Taliban would be, he said that the US was going to continue to work with its allies to insure that the Afghan people have the ability to develop their own country and democracy.
After the blast in Kabul, the defense secretary flew to Bagram Air Base near Kabul for meetings with commanders.
The blasts underscore the challenges facing Afghanistan as US-led NATO forces prepare to leave by the end of 2014.
Hagel's first visit to Kabul as Pentagon chief comes as the US and Afghanistan grapple with a number of disputes, from the aborted handover of a main detention facility - canceled at the last moment late Friday as a deal for the transfer broke down - to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's demand that US special operations forces withdraw from Wardak province just outside Kabul over allegations of abuse.
Barack Obama last month announced the withdrawal of 34,000 American troops - about half the total deployment - by early next year.
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