Scores of people are hurt, and at least 18 people are confirmed dead in an apparent Car Bomb attack in the eastern part of afghanistan. According to several sources, the perpetrators targeted an elite Afghan militia force that has operated closely with the C.I.A.
Car Bomb Targeting Elite Afghan Force Kills at Least 12 https://t.co/zm3aNFAGdB
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 27, 2017
Targeted U.S.-trained Afghan special forces
Police Chief Faizullah Ghairat of the Khost Province said that members of the Khost Protection Force or K.P.F. stopped at a crowded bazaar after returning from a mission when the massive explosion rocked the area.
It was not immediately clear how many of the casualties were members of the K.P.F., but it is apparent that civilian bystanders are also part of the tally. Conflicting reports about the death toll have both come from senior security officials. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said that 18 people are dead while another official initially thought that the official count was at 13.
The bomb was too big
Ghairat told reporters that the "bomb was too big." He added that there was no debris left from the suicide car. The suspect's identification is hard to ID because those killed in the blasts were in "unrecognizable condition." The Police Chief also said that "bodies cut into pieces" were scattered along the area.
K.P.F. members had stopped for shopping and were already leaving when the car bomb went off.
Khost Protection Force is an ad hoc group trained by the Central Intelligence Agency. It carries out operations in areas along the Pakistani border that is under the control of Taliban strongman, Sarajuddin Haqqani. Haqqani is the terrorist network's deputy supreme leader and the chief of the brutal Haqqani Network.
Although the K.P.F. conducts legitimate operations against the Taliban, some people have reported abuses and civilian casualties done by some of its members. The force is under the control of the Afghan intelligence agency and the National Directorate of Security. Ghairat said that the group is "directed and run by the Americans."
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