Taliban attack compound of US contractor in Afghanistan

The Guardian, July 2

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the compound of a USAid contractor in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz today, killing four people including a British national.

The attack on the compound of Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) also wounded 10 people, including a Briton whose condition was described by the British embassy as critical but stable. Initial reports suggested that the dead may have been members of a private security firm guarding the compound.

The gunbattle, which started at 3am local time and lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the compound, according to local officials.

Although the province is the hub of insurgency in the northern areas, the scale and complexity of the attack was unprecedented in the region, marking a new level of capability for the insurgency on the day General David Petraeus, the new commander of the Nato and US forces, arrived in Kabul.

"Maybe they attempted to send a signal," Nato's General Joseph Blotz said, adding "but this is senseless."

Blotz said the attack resembled an assault on a UN guesthouse in Kabul in October last year that killed eight people.

Thomas Ruttig of the thinktank the Afghan Analysts Network said: "It is a first time for Kunduz that such a complex attack has happened there, and one against a non-military target. This is another sign they are getting stronger and have a greater foothold [in this area] and can pull off attacks like this one."

A Taliban spokesman was quoted by the local Pajhwok news agency claiming responsibilty and claiming the compound was that of the US special forces, something denied by US officials.

While development agencies have found it easier to work in northern areas, many of them have reported increasing threats from insurgents moving into new areas.

DAI is termed a for-profit contractor, a distinction that traditional NGOs are keen to emphasise. Many for-profit contractors live in armed compounds, something that traditional NGOs eschew in order to emphasise their neutrality.

Ruttig said: "I have concerns about the privatisation and militarisation of development co-operation which makes people who work in these organisations very vulnerable."

USAid termed the attack "another tragic reminder of the life threatening circumstances that our Afghan and international partners face as they work to improve conditions".

The attack comes at a time when the Obama administration is trying to pump more money into the civilian surge as part of its transition strategy in the face of growing domestic resistance.