Kabul, Afghanistan —Â An explosion ripped through Afghanistan‘s capital on Sunday, killing at least 57 people and wounding over a hundred as they lined up to register to vote. Reports indicated the deaths of five children and 21 women, though specific numbers of casualties are still rising and remain unclear. A suicide bomber had placed himself near the waiting line where prospective voters were to receive their national identification cards, and detonated himself in the fourth attack on voting registration centers since the beginning of the month, according to BBC.
ISIS has since claimed responsibility.
Afghani President Ashraf Ghani said that, “I condemn the heinous terrorist attacks in Kabul and Pul-e-Khumri. I wish Allah’s mercy upon those who martyred, speedy recovery to the wounded, and convey my deep condolences to victims’ families. I instructed relevant institutions to provide support and care to those affected.”
John R. Bass, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, said in a tweet: “I strongly condemn this morning’s suicide attack on a voter registration center in #Kabul and offer my condolences to the victims and their families. This senseless violence shows the cowardice and inhumanity of the enemies of democracy and peace in #Afghanistan.”
The voter registration is in preparation for the parliamentary and district council elections that are supposed to occur in the fall. However, security concerns, constant delays and fraudulent voting have all contributed to low turnouts, thereby contributing to consistent delays in the voting process. There are also concerns regarding legitimate voting being held in areas that are controlled by the Taliban.
Author’s insight:
When it comes to security, things get significantly more difficult when the assailant doesn’t mind dying in the process — an assassination attempt is a lot harder to prevent if the assassin doesn’t necessarily want to make it out alive. This obviously applies to suicide bombers.
There are several ways to detect suicide bombers, some methods more reliable than others, but in a crowd like this where no one is looking, there is really not a whole lot anyone can do without high levels of security in every voting registration center across the country — something they simply cannot afford.
It was approximately 70 degrees on Sunday morning when the bomb went off, and so too warm for bulky jackets or sweaters that would likely be used to conceal explosives. Realistically, suspicious looking characters with bulky jackets usually only warrants a double-take from a couple of passerbys and not much else. And even then, if someone confronts a suicide bomber it’s likely they are just going to detonate themselves right then and there.
Suffice to say, these suicide attacks on civilian populations are very difficult to stop as they are happening. That means the efforts to stop the attacks are reliant on finding the would-be attackers and their organizations before it happens.
Featured image:Â A relative of a victim cries outside a voter registration center which was attacked by a suicide bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 22, 2018. Gen. Daud Amin, the Kabul police chief, said the suicide bomber targeted civilians who had gathered to receive national identification cards. (AP Photo/ Rahmat Gul)
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Here’s a sample of the comments on this post.
I read pieces like this and then see idiots stopping flags and this and that and im like… you have no clue how crappy life is in other places on earth SMH! We are so disconnected over here im not sure as a whole that most would bother to notice any suspicious activities or even care if some whacko clacked off a vest on voters. Sadly I believe they are still decades away from restructuring that culture and mindset over there.
Absolutely! Democracy is never going to work in a place like Afghanistan is right this second. They need to grow into it themselves, and they need to want it themselves. There are many who DO want democracy there, but there are a TON of people who don’t, or just don’t care and want to get back to daily life.
Oh I agree , that is what I meant at what ever the cost . Though I believe the afghan people deserve stability I don’t think they are ready to do what is necessary . They are still a tribal country and our western way is not what they embrace . 17 years of trying to bring a stable democratic government and it is not happening .
“Regardless of the cost” would be nice, but providing security to keep out all ISIS and Taliban fighters in every location isn’t just expensive, it’s impossible. They don’t have that kind of power or money. Also, suicide vest attacks like this are almost impossible to stop on the day of the attack, unfortunately.
They need to put what money they have in more united, concerted efforts to combat these forces head on. Take out the facilitators, regain control of Taliban towns, push any ISIS presence back over the border, etc.
Once that happens, then you do what we do here in the US. You have local law enforcement do the best they can (even American resources couldn’t have stopped an attack like this), and then you have some equivalent to the FBI continue to track down and stamp out any remaining terror cells operating in the country.
Because of the systemic corruption in the Afghan government (which I have seen firsthand), I don’t think this will happen any time soon.
I think if The Afghanistan government is serious they are going to have to provide adequate security regardless of the cost . It is the only way now that the Taliban , AQ and ISIS are flourishing again