Categories
Perspectives

January 27, 2018: Suicide bombing in Afghanistan

On this day in 2018 Afghan terrorists detonated an ambulance laden with explosives in Kabul killing at least 95 people and injured 158 others

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – This is becoming repetitive but some terrorist groups really have no lows to which they will not stoop.

I know that there are different cultures around the world and that what we take for granted in one part is not so in another. This is not to say that one region does it well and the others do not. It just is what it is.

In the West, or at least in Canada, there is a practice whereby if you are driving on the road and you hear or see an emergency vehicle, especially ambulances and firetrucks for reasons to be made more clear, you pull to the side and let them go by.

An ambulance and/or a firetruck with lights flashing and horns blaring is clearly on its way to help someone, whether it is to take someone to a hospital or put out a fire that could kill or injure people. Not pulling over is not just rude, it is bordering on immoral.

Failing to yield is one thing; targeting an emergency vehicle in a terrorist attack is something wholly different.

On this day in 2018

Afghan terrorists drove an ambulance laden with explosives past a police checkpoint in a secure zone in Kabul, home to government offices and foreign embassies and detonated their payload, killing at least 95 people and injured 158 others. The Taliban claimed the attack.

I saw a huge flame. The smoke was pungent. It entered my eyes and I was not able to see for some time. It looked like a brutal graveyard. It was a terrible moment. The area is completely destroyed.

Eyewitness

The Afghan government condemned the bombing as a crime against humanity, and accused Pakistan of providing support to the attackers. Whoever was responsible this was a despicable act.

Related Content from Borealis:

RELATED: Borealis discusses the chances of peace in Afghanistan with Kamran Bokhari

By Phil Gurski

Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. Phil is a 32-year veteran of CSE and CSIS and the author of six books on terrorism.

Leave a Reply