Suicide bomber attacks hospital in eastern AfghanistanBy Bill Roggio
June 25, 2011
A suicide bomber killed more than 30 Afghans in a deadly attack on a hospital in the eastern province of Logar today.
The
suicide bomber rammed an SUV packed with explosives into a local hospital in the Azra district in Logar
just before noon today. Patients and medical personnel were among those killed in the attack. One Afghan official
said that more than 35 people were killed.
The Taliban denied carrying out the attack and claimed the accusation was an attempt to "defame" the terror group.
"We condemn this attack on a hospital ... whoever has done this wants to defame the Taliban," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
But the
Taliban have carried out suicide attacks and bombings at hospitals, mosques, markets, and other
civilian centers. On May 21, the Taliban claimed credit for a suicide attack at a hospital on Kabul that is
frequented by military and police personnel. And
just yesterday, the Taliban detonated a bomb at a
market in Kunduz, killing 10 civilians.
The Taliban and the Haqqani Network, a Taliban subgroup close to al Qaeda that is based in the Afghan east,
both operate in Logar. They operate jointly as part of the Kabul Attack Network, a unit assigned to carry out attacks
in and around the capital. The Kabul Attack Network includes elements from the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin,
the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and al Qaeda, and routinely sends out suicide bombers to carry out attacks in the region.
Taj Mir Jawad, a senior Taliban commander who co-leads the Kabul Attack Network, commands forces in the
Pul-e Alam district in Logar.
The International Security Assistance Force claims that the
Taliban is responsible for 85 percent of the
civilian casualties in Afghanistan that occurred between January and the end of May of this year.
Last year, the United Nations said the Taliban were responsible for 78 percent of civilian deaths in Afghanistan.
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