After a Bloody Week in Afghanistan, Elected Officials Seek Answers From Ghani by Antonio Olivo and Sayed Salahuddin – Washington Post
Worried about eroding security, elected officials in Afghanistan sought answers this weekend from President Ashraf Ghani’s administration, asking why more was not done to prevent suicide attacks that have killed nearly 200 people in one of the bloodiest weeks of the year…
In the past week, Taliban suicide bombers broke through security checkpoints at police and military compounds in Humvees, allowing fighters to storm the gates in commando-style raids that, in one case, nearly wiped out all 60 Afghan National Army soldiers based in a post in the southwestern province of Kandahar. In that attack, 43 soldiers died, while nine were wounded.
Other attacks included the bombing of a Shiite mosque in Kabul that killed 54 people and injured 55, and a rocket attack on the NATO compound inside the city’s fortified “Green Zone” that caused no injuries.
Earlier in the week, several attempts at suicide attacks in the city were foiled when officials arrested three people driving in trucks loaded with explosives.
Some elected officials accused Pakistan, which has aided the Taliban in the past, of facilitating the attacks. Pakistan, threatened with sanctions by President Trump for allowing “safe havens” for terrorists near its border with Afghanistan, denies assisting the group and has made a point of condemning the attacks…