nastyleg
02-08-2010, 02:09 PM
Afghan police official accused of aiding insurgents is arrested
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times
Stars and Stripes online edition, Monday, February 8, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO forces swooped down on the home of a senior Afghan police official, arrested him and accused him of helping insurgents make and plant roadside bombs, Western military officials said Sunday.
The incident, which took place last week in Kapisa province, east of the capital, Kabul, is likely to raise tensions between foreign forces and the national police. That partnership is considered a crucial element of plans by the Obama administration to pave the way for a drawdown of American forces starting next year.
Before any large-scale Western pullout occurs, Afghan security forces are supposed to take on more responsibility for safeguarding the country.
If the charges against the arrested official are borne out, the case would represent one of the most serious instances to date of complicity by a ranking Afghan security official with the Taliban or other militant groups.
But Afghan officials raised doubts about the man's guilt, and the Interior Ministry, which oversees the national police, said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had been asked for an explanation.
In a statement describing Friday's raid, NATO did not name the targeted official, who was arrested along with a bodyguard. But provincial authorities identified him as Attaullah Wahab, who served as the deputy chief and security head of the national police in the province.
The NATO statement said the arrested man was suspected of helping distribute and plant bombs on roads surrounding Kapisa's capital, Mahmud-i-Raqi. Improvised explosive devices are the principal killer of Western troops across Afghanistan.
In addition to alleged involvement with the explosives ring in Kapisa, the arrested man was accused of corruption in connection with a road project and of unspecified illegal activities in the district of Bagram in neighboring Parwan province, where the country's biggest American base is located, and had been linked to a killing last year, NATO said.
Provincial officials expressed bewilderment and wondered aloud whether it could be a case of mistaken identity. Afghans sometimes try to settle clan vendettas or other disputes by giving false information about an enemy to Western forces.
"We don't know anything about this. They didn't coordinate with us," said Halim Ayar, a spokesman for Kapisa's governor. He said he did not know of any allegations of wrongdoing against the police official.
NATO said Afghan and Western troops, backed up by helicopters, took part in the raid. The statement did not specify the nationality or service branch of the foreign forces leading the raid, but Ayar identified them as American.
Most of the foreign soldiers in Kapisa are French, but U.S. special forces sometimes carry out operations in the area.
As word of the arrest spread Saturday, about 300 people staged a protest in Kapisa's capital, blocking the main road for about half an hour before dispersing peacefully, Ayar said.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67882
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times
Stars and Stripes online edition, Monday, February 8, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO forces swooped down on the home of a senior Afghan police official, arrested him and accused him of helping insurgents make and plant roadside bombs, Western military officials said Sunday.
The incident, which took place last week in Kapisa province, east of the capital, Kabul, is likely to raise tensions between foreign forces and the national police. That partnership is considered a crucial element of plans by the Obama administration to pave the way for a drawdown of American forces starting next year.
Before any large-scale Western pullout occurs, Afghan security forces are supposed to take on more responsibility for safeguarding the country.
If the charges against the arrested official are borne out, the case would represent one of the most serious instances to date of complicity by a ranking Afghan security official with the Taliban or other militant groups.
But Afghan officials raised doubts about the man's guilt, and the Interior Ministry, which oversees the national police, said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had been asked for an explanation.
In a statement describing Friday's raid, NATO did not name the targeted official, who was arrested along with a bodyguard. But provincial authorities identified him as Attaullah Wahab, who served as the deputy chief and security head of the national police in the province.
The NATO statement said the arrested man was suspected of helping distribute and plant bombs on roads surrounding Kapisa's capital, Mahmud-i-Raqi. Improvised explosive devices are the principal killer of Western troops across Afghanistan.
In addition to alleged involvement with the explosives ring in Kapisa, the arrested man was accused of corruption in connection with a road project and of unspecified illegal activities in the district of Bagram in neighboring Parwan province, where the country's biggest American base is located, and had been linked to a killing last year, NATO said.
Provincial officials expressed bewilderment and wondered aloud whether it could be a case of mistaken identity. Afghans sometimes try to settle clan vendettas or other disputes by giving false information about an enemy to Western forces.
"We don't know anything about this. They didn't coordinate with us," said Halim Ayar, a spokesman for Kapisa's governor. He said he did not know of any allegations of wrongdoing against the police official.
NATO said Afghan and Western troops, backed up by helicopters, took part in the raid. The statement did not specify the nationality or service branch of the foreign forces leading the raid, but Ayar identified them as American.
Most of the foreign soldiers in Kapisa are French, but U.S. special forces sometimes carry out operations in the area.
As word of the arrest spread Saturday, about 300 people staged a protest in Kapisa's capital, blocking the main road for about half an hour before dispersing peacefully, Ayar said.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67882