Taliban Attack in Kabul

On Tuesday 13th September, the US Embassy and NATO Headquarters in Kabul were the targets of Taliban suicide bombers and rocket- launched attacks. Four civilians and three police officers were reportedly killed in the preliminary attacks, and a further ten civilians and nine police officers were killed in three smaller incidents on the second day of the assault. It is significant in itself that it took Afghani forces two days to suppress the insurgents; this is the first time in the capital that an attack has lasted this length of time, and its implications are worrying.

The indication that the Taliban are growing in strength is particularly concerning in the aftermath of July’s ‘security transition’ from US to Afghan- led forces. Kabul and six other regions have now been taken over from foreign troops, in the build- up to complete US withdrawal in 2014. Despite President Karzai’s assurances that that this attack will not impact on the smooth running of the security transition, and will actually strengthen the resolve of people to fight the Taliban, the incident does pose a question in terms of the strength of the Afghan forces. Kabul is normally considered to be more secure than other parts of Afghanistan, but the recent concentration in raids on Western targets does, to some degree, represent the resentment felt towards the foreign occupation.

The fact that Taliban forces attacked a region where the US had largely relinquished control merely exposes the weakness of the Afghan army on their part, and it signals that as the US prepare to step- up their withdrawal, it may only be a matter of time before the Taliban gain more and more influence in Afghanistan. This attack on the US Embassy in Kabul questions whether the Afghan army are sufficiently equipped to reckon with the persistence of the Taliban, especially when the civilian death toll is taken into account. Indeed, questions have been raised in regard to the wounding of an RTA reporter in the attack; steps need to be taken to ensure that there are adequate safeguards in place in order to protect members of the press. Hillary Clinton vowed that they would continue to work for the safety of people at the US Embassy, whilst the Head of News National Television explicitly condemned the injuring of the RTA reporter. Combating the threat to the free press is of paramount importance to the overall stability of Afghanistan, and whilst President Karzai is limited in his capacity to stop the Taliban’s attacks, he does need to ensure that the freedom of the press is regulated.