"Police Chief in Southern Afghanistan Survives Attack That Kills 4 Civilians
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban
tried and failed to kill one of their most hated enemies late on Monday
when the police chief of Kandahar Province, who is pursuing an
aggressive campaign against the insurgents in their former southern
homeland, survived a powerful suicide car bombing that killed four
civilians and wounded 20 more, Afghan officials said Tuesday.
The police chief, Gen. Abdul Raziq, who has survived several Taliban
assassination attempts, was driving through the eastern part of Kandahar
city shortly before midnight when a small truck packed with explosives
detonated near his white armored car, according to the Kandahar
governor’s spokesman, Javed Faisal.
His armored vehicle was badly damaged, but General Raziq and his driver
were only wounded. He was taken to a NATO hospital at Kandahar Airfield,
one of the largest coalition bases in the country, Mr. Faisal said.
“The police chief was wounded slightly on his face and hands, but his
condition is stable,” Mr. Faisal said. “The explosion was heavy. It
destroyed several shops and two houses.”
General Raziq formerly ran the border police in districts close to the
Pakistan border around the city of Spinbaldak. It was there that he
earned his reputation for tough tactics, as he secured the road from
Spinbaldak to Kandahar and kept the Taliban at bay.
In return, he was allowed to operate with impunity and used his control
of the border region around the city to reap millions of dollars from
smuggling, according to accusations by Pakistani officials. General
Raziq has disputed the accusations.
In the view of American officials at the time, having Abdul Raziq on
their side was an uncomfortable, but necessary, part of the war
strategy: While he might have made a lot of money off the area, he also
was, by Afghan standards, very effective against the Taliban....
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