Top US commander survives attack that leaves key Afghan general dead, 2 Americans wounded

[enhanced_deficit]

No reaction from team Trump yet. Police General killed had been accused of torture by UN back in May 2017.


Top US commander in Afghanistan unharmed after attack leaves key Afghan general dead, 2 Americans wounded

By: Kyle Rempfer and Tara Copp   6 hours ago
An attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, left three Americans wounded, and a key Afghan general dead. (DoD)

The four-star U.S. general who leads the NATO mission to Afghanistan was present during an attack Thursday that wounded two Americans and killed an Afghan general who was key to holding together the many disparate political groups and security forces in southern Afghanistan.

Army Gen. Scott Miller, Resolute Support commander, was present at a routine meeting with regional leaders in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when what appears to be an insider attack occurred. Kandahar police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq, a critical part of Afghanistan’s security was targeted in the attack and killed.

“Today I lost a great friend Lt. Gen. Raziq," Miller said via Twitter. "We had served together for many years. Afghanistan lost a patriot, my condolences to the people of Afghanistan. The good he did for Afghanistan and the Afghan people cannot be undone.”

Col. Knut Peters, a Resolute Support spokesman, told Military Times the incident took place at Kandahar Palace and was an "Afghan-on-Afghan incident."

“Two Americans were wounded in the cross-fire and they have been medically evacuated,” Peters said.
A third individual working as a contractor for the NATO coalition was also wounded.
“General Miller is uninjured,” Peters added. “We are being told the area is secure. Initial reports also say the attacker is dead.”

The wounded are in stable condition, Lt. Col. Kone Faulkner, a Resolute Support official, said in a follow-on statement. The three wounded include one U.S. military service member, one U.S. civilian and one contractor of an unknown nationality.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/10/18/top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-unharmed-after-attack-that-left-key-afghan-general-dead-2-americans-wounded/



Related


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Fri May 12, 2017

U.N. torture committee wants Afghan general prosecuted

By Tom Miles | GENEVA

The police chief of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, General Abdul Raziq, should be prosecuted over allegations of torture and enforced disappearances, the U.N. Committee against Torture said on Friday.
The committee said it was deeply concerned at numerous reports brought to its attention about the situation in Kandahar, including the use of torture methods such as suffocation, crushing the testicles, pumping water into the stomach and administering electric shocks.

A U.N. report last month said torture and mistreatment of detainees by Afghan security forces was as widespread as ever, despite promises by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and new laws enacted by the government.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague is conducting a separate review of torture in Afghanistan.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-un-idUSKBN1881QR


A Warlord, a Drug Smuggler, and a Killer: Meet Afghanistan’s Once and Future Kings
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2014/05/30/a-warlord-a-drug-smuggler-and-a-killer-meet-afghanistan-s-once-and-future-kings.html (http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2014/05/30/a-warlord-a-drug-smuggler-and-a-killer-meet-afghanistan-s-once-and-future-kings.html#ixzz4gtA30m39)

[kpitcher]

When do we admit there's no way to actually "win" a war in Afghanistan and that the Taliban we invaded to get rid of are stronger than ever?

[enhanced_deficit]

I would strongly advise against making such an admission. Among other things it would make our trillions of dollars and human resources spending on this longest war in history look bad.

[RonZeplin]

Our efforts to Make Torture Great Again have suffered a setback.

https://progressivecynic.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/caldvbywaaau-w7-1.png?w=501&h=263

[Itsback]

Abandon Afghanistan. No war should be more than 7 to 10 years.

[enhanced_deficit]

https://progressivecynic.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/caldvbywaaau-w7-1.png?w=501&h=263



Fri May 12, 2017
U.N. torture committee wants Afghan general prosecuted
By Tom Miles | GENEVA

The police chief of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, General Abdul Raziq, should be prosecuted over allegations of torture and enforced disappearances, the U.N. Committee against Torture said on Friday.
The committee said it was deeply concerned at numerous reports brought to its attention about the situation in Kandahar, including the use of torture methods such as suffocation, crushing the testicles, pumping water into the stomach and administering electric shocks.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-un-idUSKBN1881QR



“Today I lost a great friend Lt. Gen. Raziq," Miller said via Twitter.


Two and two don't add up, let's wait till investigationa are completed and all the facts come out.

[enhanced_deficit]

Merging last couple of days news about longest war in US history to same thread:


Published 12 hours ago

US general shot in Taliban attack in Afghanistan, Pentagon confirms

By Frank Miles | Fox News

https://a57.foxnews.com/a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2018/10/640/320/1862/1048/Jeffrey-Smiley-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1?ve=1&tl=1
The Pentagon has confirmed that U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley, center, was shot in a Taliban attack that killed two Afghan leaders in Kandahar province last week. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Neysa Canfield)

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley was shot in a Taliban attack that killed two Afghan leaders in Kandahar province last week, the Pentagon has confirmed.
Cdr. Grant Neeley, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Resolute Support spokesperson, and a U.S. defense official both confirmed the incident to Fox News on Sunday, but did not provide further details.
The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2018/10/21/us-general-wounded-attack-afghanistan/?utm_term=.3870cc2ef370), which broke the story, reported earlier Sunday that Smiley was recovering after he suffered at least one gunshot wound while he was inside the Kandahar governor’s compound.
The Taliban assassinated two top provincial officials Thursday in the attack on a security conference attended by the top U.S. military commander in the country, Gen. Scott Miller. He escaped injury.


https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-general-shot-in-taliban-attack-in-afghanistan-pentagon-confirms



NATO Soldier Killed, Two Wounded In Afghan Insider Attack


October 22, 2018 18:52 GMT

The funeral of General Abdul Raziq on October 19, 2018.

A soldier in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission was killed and two others wounded on October 22 by an apparent insider attack in the western province of Herat.
A statement from the NATO mission’s headquarters in Kabul said: "Initial reports indicate the attack was committed by a member of the Afghan security forces.”


https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-soldier-killed-two-wounded-by-afghan-insider-attack/29557966.html



Assassins threaten multibillion-dollar US efforts to keep Afghan airmen flying

The family of Afghan flight engineer Mahboobulhaq Safi, 30, keep photos of their loved one, who was one of the most highly trained airmen in the Afghan air force and was assassinated on Aug. 27, 2018. The family wants more protection for airmen, who face threats both at work and off duty.

J.P. LAWRENCE/STARS AND STRIPES
Published: October 19, 2018
KABUL, Afghanistan – The two highly trained Afghan airmen were dead, killed by an assassin who waited for them on their way to work.
Mahboobulhaq Safi, 30 — once Afghanistan’s only C-130 flight engineer — was shot six times Aug. 27, along with Col. Mohammed Shah, 45, one of the country’s few C-130 pilots.

Their families are left asking how Western military forces can justify investing so much money in training Afghan airmen, while not doing more to protect them.

https://www.stripes.com/news/assassins-threaten-multibillion-dollar-us-efforts-to-keep-afghan-airmen-flying-1.552494

[enhanced_deficit]

U.S. military scales back contacts with Afghans after ‘insider’ shootings

KABUL — American military officials said Wednesday that they had halted most face-to-face contacts with members of the Afghan security forces, and have temporarily withdrawn from Afghan security facilities, after two “insider” shootings in the past week that killed a top Afghan regional police commander and a Czech soldier.

A spokesman for Resolute Support, the U.S.-led military mission in Afghanistan, described the move as “standard” practice after “green-on-blue” attacks — or assaults by Afghan security personnel against foreign forces. He said “regular contacts” were continuing by telephone and email between U.S. and Afghan security officials, with some meetings also taking place in U.S. facilities.
A senior Afghan military officer, stationed at a joint base with foreign forces, said that American troops “have been ordered not to visit the Afghan side of our base for a few days, but we can visit them on their side.” The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, also said the “joint control and command center is active.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-military-scales-back-contacts-with-afghans-after-insider-shootings/2018/10/24/69ba2682-d794-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49_story.html

[enhanced_deficit]

U.S. service member killed in insider attack in Afghanistan




An Afghan National Army soldier keeps watch near the site of a suicide attack in Kabul on Oct. 31. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

By Sayed Salahuddin



November 3

KABUL — A U.S. service member was killed and another wounded in an insider attack in Kabul on Saturday, when a member of Afghan security forces opened fire on them, officials said.

The wounded soldier was evacuated for medical treatment at Bagram Airfield, a U.S. military base about 35 miles north of Kabul, said Debra Richardson, a spokeswoman for the NATO coalition in Afghanistan, in a statement.
Richardson said the assailant was gunned down by other Afghan troops present at the scene.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Sayed Javid Ghafoor confirmed her account.
Speaking by phone, he said the attack happened at a base in Kabul where foreign troops provide training for Afghan forces.
The motive for the attack — the second insider attack at a base against foreign troops in less than two weeks — was not immediately clear.
[U.S. general wounded in attack in Afghanistan (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2018/10/21/us-general-wounded-attack-afghanistan/?utm_term=.b7ed8f6f3e26)]
The Taliban praised Saturday’s attack, saying it was conducted by a “sensible” Afghan.
Foreign troops for days avoided visiting Afghan bases some 10 days ago because of the threat of insider attacks, after a Czech soldier was gunned down by a commando serving in the Afghan forces.

Last month, U.S. military officials said they had halted most face-to-face (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-military-scales-back-contacts-with-afghans-after-insider-shootings/2018/10/24/69ba2682-d794-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49_story.html?utm_term=.7cf8abdd5fd9)con tacts with members of the Afghan security forces, and have temporarily withdrawn from Afghan security facilities, after two “insider” shootings that killed a top Afghan regional police commander and a Czech soldier.
The latest assaults have raised new concerns over attacks against coalition personnel by Afghans in uniform, which have killed more than 150 U.S. or coalition troops or contractors and wounded about 200 since 2008.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-soldier-killed-in-insider-attack-in-afghanistan/2018/11/03/662dee3c-df63-11e8-b732-3c72cbf131f2_story.html

[enhanced_deficit]

Last Update 3 hours ago
Utah mayor, a father of 7, ID’d as US service member killed in ‘insider attack’ in Afghanistan

By Dom Calicchio | Fox News


https://a57.foxnews.com/media2.foxnews.com/BrightCove/694940094001/2018/11/04/931/524/694940094001_5857425374001_5857427248001-vs.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 (http://video.foxnews.com/v/5857427248001)

Utah mayor and father of seven Brent Taylor died in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan.

A former mayor from Utah who has served in the state’s National Guard since 2013 was identified Saturday as the U.S. service member who was killed in an “insider attack” in Afghanistan earlier in the day, according to reports.
Brent Taylor, a married father of seven children who was deployed to Afghanistan in January, was a former mayor of North Ogden, a city of about 17,000 people located about 46 miles north of Salt Lake City. Taylor resigned from the mayor's office before he went overseas, the Standard-Examiner of Ogden reported (https://www.standard.net/news/local/brent-taylor-who-served-as-north-ogden-mayor-killed-in/article_c0f9ef7c-93d7-52b4-8c61-71b31558981d.html).

https://www.foxnews.com/us/utah-mayor-a-father-of-7-idd-as-us-service-member-killed-in-insider-attack-in-afghanistan

[enhanced_deficit]

US soldier killed in Afghanistan (https://nypost.com/2018/11/24/us-soldier-2-afghan-troops-killed-in-afghanistan/)

By Mary Kay Linge November 24, 2018 https://********************************/2018/11/181124-us-soldiers.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1
AP

An American service member was killed in Afghanistan Saturday, the U.S. military said.
The NATO-led Resolute Support mission released no details of the incident and held back the service member’s name until relatives could be notified.
The death marked 2,409 Americans killed in Operation Enduring Freedom since it began in 2001.
The U.S. and NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended in 2014, but 15,000 U.S. soldiers remain there to support Afghan security forces in their continuing battle against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.


Missiles fired at Afghan city as top US commander visits

U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller takes command during the Resolute Support mission change of command ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 2, 2018. Miller was meeting with high-level officials to discuss the security situation in central Ghazni province today when two missiles were fired on the city, police said. Miller was not injured.
November 21, 2018


At Least 55 Killed in Bombing of Afghan Religious Gathering

An injured person being taken to a hospital after a suicide attack on a religious gathering at a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan, where a thousand people were said to be present.CreditMohammad Ismail/Reuters
https://static01.********/images/2018/11/21/world/21afghanistan-print/merlin_147118551_58e4a842-7052-41fd-a9d1-8a5c114a9d4e-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale







Nov. 20, 2018

KABUL, Afghanistan — The bombing of a crowded religious gathering in Kabul on Tuesday killed at least 55 people, Afghan officials said.
Wahid Majrooh, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, said that in addition to those who were killed, at least 96 people were wounded in an explosion at the Uranus Wedding Palace, near Kabul’s international airport, and that officials were still trying to determine the exact toll. He added that 24 of the wounded were in critical condition.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/world/asia/afghanistan-wedding-hall-bombing.html

[enhanced_deficit]

Pentagon identifies US soldier killed in Afghanistan

By Zachary Cohen and Ryan Browne, CNN
Updated 12:26 PM ET, Wed January 23, 2019

Washington (CNN)The Department of Defense has identified the US soldier killed in Afghanistan Tuesday as Staff Sgt. Joshua Z. Beale, 32, of Carrollton, Virginia.

Beale died "as a result of injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire during combat operations in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan," according to a statement released Wednesday.
He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
CNN reported Tuesday that a US service member was killed in combat in Afghanistan, though the US military would not immediately provide additional details.
This is the second US service member killed in action in Afghanistan in 2019.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/politics/us-soldier-killed-afghanistan/index.html

[enhanced_deficit]

War continues:


Afghan forces, US service member killed in Taliban attacks (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/afghan-forces-service-member-killed-taliban-attacks-190713162234523.html)

Four killed in Taliban attack on a hotel in Badghis province, while a US service member died in action in Wardak.
13 Jul 2019

At least four Afghan security forces and a US service member have been killed in two separate attacks claimed by the Taliban as violence continues across Afghanistan despite efforts to end the 18-year war.

An attack on a commercial building housing a hotel and shops in Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis province in western Afghanistan, killed four security personnel and wounded 20 others, including civilians, officials said on Saturday.

"The attackers took over a building near the governor's office and police headquarters," Badghis Governor Abdul Ghafoor Malikzai told the AFP news agency.

[enhanced_deficit]

2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan as Talks With Taliban Resume

By Mujib Mashal and Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Aug. 21, 2019




KABUL, Afghanistan — Two United States soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday as violence has intensified amid peace talks and American casualties have risen with it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/world/asia/americans-killed-afghanistan-taliban.html