At Least 16 Afghan Police Killed in Checkpoint Attacks

Officials Blame Opposition Political Party for Strikes

Eight policemen were killed in an attack on a police checkpoint in Lashkar Gah, Helmand early this morning, and another eight were killed in a virtually identical attack in the usually quiet Baghlan Province, on the other side of the country.

The attacks were just the latest in a growing number of attacks on Afghan police across the country, at a time when the US is attempting to bolster the force and Afghan civilians are increasingly disillusioned with what is proving to be a very ineffective and corrupt security force.

Mysteriously, however, officials insist the Taliban didn’t launch these attacks. Instead they are pointing the finger at Hezb-e Islami, an opposition political party which has its origins in an Islamist militia created to fight the Soviet occupation in the 1970’s.

The party’s leader Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal ran a decidedly unsuccessful campaign for president, lost amid higher profile reformist candidates and massive voter fraud. The group had a very public falling-out with the Taliban in the mid-1990’s, but officials maintain that they are now secretly allies.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.