Taliban Bombing of Security Contractors, Kabul (2016)
In June 2016, a significant terrorist attack occurred in Kabul, Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber targeted a bus transporting Nepalese and Indian security contractors employed at the Canadian Embassy. This tragic incident resulted in the deaths of fifteen individuals, primarily members of Nepal's Gurkha Guards, recognized for their military proficiency. The attack took place amidst a backdrop of escalating violence in Afghanistan, with both the Taliban and ISIS claiming responsibility for the bombing, although their claims remain unverified. On the same day, two additional attacks were executed in Kabul and Badakhshan Province, highlighting the intensifying conflict in the region. Following the bombing, the Nepali government prohibited its citizens from working in Afghanistan and similar conflict-ridden countries, indicating a direct response to the heightened risks faced by its nationals. The incident drew international condemnation, including statements from Canadian officials expressing solidarity with the victims. This attack exemplified the ongoing challenges of security and stability in Afghanistan, marked by the rivalry between the Taliban and ISIS and the continuous threat of terrorism.
Taliban Bombing of Security Contractors, Kabul (2016)
Date: June 20, 2016
Place: Kabul, Afghanistan
Summary
In June 2016, a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying Nepalese and Indian security contractors working at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing fifteen.
Key Events
- June 20, 2016—Bomb explodes on a road in Kabul, Afghanistan, targeting a bus carrying security contractors. Two other terrorist attacks occur in Afghanistan on the same day, including an assassination attempt on a local politician in Kabul and a bombing at a market in Badakhshan Province.
- June 24, 2016—The Nepali government officially bans citizens from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria.
- June 28, 2016—Between twenty and forty Nepali security contractors quit their jobs in Afghanistan and return to Nepal.
- July 8, 2016—A memorial is unveiled at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul honoring the contractors killed in the attack.
Status
Both the Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, but neither claim has been independently verified. Throughout 2016, the Taliban continued an extended series of terrorist attacks against targets in Afghanistan. On September 5, the militant Islamist group carried out two suicide car bombings near the Afghan defense ministry and one targeting the officers of a local charitable organization, together killing at least forty and injuring more than one hundred. As a result of the rise of Taliban- and ISIS-related violence in Afghanistan in the summer of 2016, the US military reconsidered plans to reduce US military presence in the nation by the end of the year.
In-Depth Overview
The Afghan Taliban organization was founded by Mullah Omar and came to prominence in 1994 after Soviet withdrawal from the region and a subsequent power struggle among competing groups. The Taliban was the ruling power in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s to 2001, when the US government accused the organization of harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. A US-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and removed the Taliban from the capital, Kabul, in December of that year. The Taliban then began an insurgent campaign against first the US-led occupation of Afghanistan and then the new Afghan government. The Afghan government met with Taliban leaders to discuss a cease-fire in July 2015; Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was then killed in a US drone attack in May 2016. Since then, authority has passed to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has accelerated terrorist attacks against the Afghan government.
In addition to the Taliban, the Afghan government has also been fighting the terrorist organization ISIS in Afghanistan since 2014. The Taliban and ISIS are also rivals, with ISIS seeking to establish a worldwide Islamic caliphate, while the Taliban is more closely associated with the interests of the Pashtun ethnic group specifically. The rivalry between ISIS and the Taliban in Afghanistan has also been a factor in exacerbating terrorism in the country between 2014 and 2016. There were a number of high-profile terrorist incidents in the Afghan capital of Kabul in early 2016, beginning with a February bombing of an Afghan National Civil Order Police headquarters, which killed at least twenty, with the Taliban claiming responsibility. In May, more than 250 Taliban members participated in a kidnapping by setting up a false checkpoint on the Kunduz-Takhar Highway, reportedly capturing over 200 citizens.
On June 20, during morning rush-hour in Kabul, a suicide bomber attacked a minibus carrying employees of the private security firm Sabre International who were working as security guards at the Canadian Embassy. The suicide bomber killed him or herself, along with fourteen guards on board the bus; days later a fifteenth succumbed to his injuries. Most of the guards were members of Nepal’s Gurkha Guards, a Nepali organization often used by foreign missions in the Middle East and historically regarded as a highly efficient and skilled military force.
That same day, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, but claiming a higher death toll of twenty individuals. Later that same day, ISIS released a statement also claiming responsibility for the attack and identifying the suicide bomber as Erfanullah Ahmed. Also that day, terrorists launched two other attacks in Afghanistan, including a second bombing in Kabul that injured a member of the state’s provisional council. In the northeastern province of Badakhshan, a bomb hidden on a motorcycle killed ten at a local market, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the attack.
In the wake of the incident, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion released statements condemning the terrorist attack. Nepali member of parliament Chudamani Biswakarma and others argued that the Nepali security officers should have been transported in an armored vehicle and criticized Canada for failing to protect their citizens during transport to and from work. The Nepali government officially banned citizens from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya and asked security companies to stop luring their citizens to war-torn nations to serve in security roles. Within a week of the event, as many as forty Nepali migrant workers in Afghanistan returned home after a dispute with their employers over security and pay issues.
Key Figures
Erfanullah Ahmed: Individual claimed to be responsible for the attack in a statement released by the Syrian terrorist organization ISIS.
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada: Current emir of the Afghan Taliban organization.
Zabihullah Mujahid: Taliban spokesman who claimed that the Taliban had organized the attack on security personnel in Kabul.
Abdul Rahman Rahimi: Police chief of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Justin Trudeau: Canadian prime minister who released a press statement condemning those responsible for the attack.
Bibliography
Fahim, K., & Sukhanyar, J. (2016, June 20). Bomb kills foreign security contractors in Kabul. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/world/asia/afghanistan-kabul-suicide-attack.html
Kabul memorial. (2016, July 8). Nepali Times. Retrieved from http://www.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/07/08/10405/
Popalzai, M., & Watson, I. (2016, June 20). Kabul suicide bombing kills 14. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/20/middleeast/afghanistan-suicide-bomb/
Pugliese, D. (2016, June 24). Nepal seeks answers from Canada for deaths of 13 guards killed in Kabul while riding unprotected minibus. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/nepalese-officials-seek-answers-from-canada-for-deaths-of-13-guards-killed-in-kabul-while-riding-uprotected-mini-bus
Sharma, G. (2016, June 24). Nepali migrants banned from working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nepal-migrants-ban-idUSKCN0ZA2UG
Suicide bombing in Kabul kills 14 Nepalese security guards. (2016, June 20). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/20/suicide-bombing-kabul-kills-nepalese-security-guards
Up to 40 Nepali workers to return from Afghanistan. (2016, June 27). The Himalayan Times. Retrieved from http://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/40-nepali-workers-return-afghanistan/