Afghanistan Denies Weekend Suicide Bomber Was in Spy Agency

Rejects Claim Incident Was Another 'Insider Attack'

NATO claims that a weekend suicide bombing attack was an “insider” attack launched by a member of the NDS, Afghanistan’s top spy agency, was denied today by Afghan government officials.

In the Saturday attack the bomber targeted US troops who were overseeing the delivery of office furniture to the spy agency’s Kandahar headquarters, killing two troops and four NDS officials. Local government officials had also confirmed the claim that the attack was NDS.

NDS spokesman Shafiqullah Tahiri conceded that the attacker was wearing an NDS uniform at the time, but said that he had stolen it and used it to sneak into the building, and was never affiliated with the organization.

Whether the attack turns out to have been “insider” or not, the ability of a suicide bomber to infiltrate the headquarters is a serious problem, adding to the concern of the occupation forces’ ability to provide security anywhere in the nation.

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.