Dozens dead as US-backed strike hits Afghan wedding
September 23, 2019
The incident comes after the US ramped up airstrikes in Afghanistan, contributing to pro-government forces being responsible for more deaths than militants. Most of the dead in the airstrike were women and children.
Image: Reuters/J. Smith
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At least 40 civilians attending a wedding party were killed in a raid conducted by Afghan government forces and supported by US airstrikes on a Taliban hideout in southern Helmand province, Afghan officials said Monday.
Abdul Majed Akhund, deputy provincial councilman, said that the majority of the dead were women and children. Twelve civilians were also injured.
The Sunday night operation in Musa Qala district targeted a house near the wedding party used by the Taliban to train suicide bombers, including foreigners, Afghan defense officials said.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that 22 Taliban members were killed and 14 others arrested in the raid. Among those arrested were five Pakistani nationals and one Bangladeshi.
"The foreign terrorist group was actively engaged in organizing terrorist attacks," said the statement, adding that a warehouse of the militants' supplies and equipment was also destroyed.
Endless battle for power in Afghanistan
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
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Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
Image: Reuters/M. Ismail
A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Hossaini
Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
Image: Reuters
Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
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Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Shirzad
Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
Image: DW/H. Hamraz
Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
Image: Reuters/O.Sobhani
An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
Image: Reuters/K. Pempel
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US, Afghan forces cause more civilian deaths
The accident comes a week after a US drone strike on suspected "Islamic State" militants killed 30 civilians and injured 40 others as they were collecting pine nuts in a forest.
According to the UN, in the first six months of this year, anti-government militants caused the majority of the 3,812 civilian casualties (1,366 deaths and 2,446 injured), but civilian deaths attributed to pro-government forces exceeded those caused by militants.
Civilian casualties including deaths and injuries attributed to anti-government elements have decreased by 43% during the first half of 2019 as compared with 2018, while civilian casualties attributed to pro-government forces increased by 31%, the UN mission to Afghanistan said in July.
Over 20 months, from January 1, 2018, to August 31 of this year, the US Air Force has "released" 11,845 weapons from manned aircraft and drones, according to US military numbers.
That compares to 11,768 weapons released in the five-year period spanning 2013 to 2017.
