Kabul Police Chief Resigns After Latest Taliban Attack

South African Aid Workers Slain in Sunday Attack

Kabul police chief General Zahir Zahir has resigned from his position today, after the latest attack on the Afghan capital city killed three South Africans, an aid worker and his two children.

Spokesmen for Zahir’s office declined specific comments, beyond saying that he “will not continue his job as police chief anymore.” It is unclear if he resigned voluntarily or was about to be sacked.

However, this was not an isolated incident, and Kabul has seen a number of high profile attacks over the past week, which no doubt was adding pressure to the police chief for his inability to maintain security.

It is unusual for the Taliban to continue launching attacks at this rate so late in the year, as usually the “spring offensive” begins to slow down in late autumn, as fighters prepare to winter over in rural Afghanistan.

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.