Taliban apologizes for bomb

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Taliban official apologizes for bomb ‘mistake’

 

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A military commander of Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban militia apologized on Wednesday for a bomb attack in the southern city of Kandahar that killed 16 people, including many children, calling it a botched attempt to target U.S. troops.

 

The fundamentalist Islamic group initially denied involvement in Tuesday’s explosion near a military compound as children were passing on their way home from school.

 

The blast, from a bomb hidden in an apple cart, came just two days after a new constitution was adopted in Kabul, which Afghans hope will usher in a period of peace and stability after a quarter of a century of bloodshed.

 

“It was a mistake by our mujahideen (holy warriors),” senior Taliban commander Mullah Sabir Momin said by satellite telephone.

 

‘A small mistake’

“We wanted to target the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) office in the city, but because of a small mistake, this plan failed,” he told Reuters.

 

PRTs are civilian-military groups, mostly under the umbrella of U.S.-led forces in the country, deployed across Afghanistan to improve security and support reconstruction efforts. The PRT in Kandahar is under U.S. command.

 

 

• AFGHANISTAN: Maps, facts and figures

 

Vital assistance missions have been suspended across as much as a third of the country due to deteriorating security, with much of the violence blamed on the Taliban and its allies.

 

Momin said U.S. and allied forces regularly passed along the route where the explosion occurred.

 

Officials in Kandahar said on Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 16, and at least eight children were among those killed. Another 50 people were wounded.

 

One person was arrested by Afghan authorities shortly after the blast, but Momin said he did not know the individual and claimed that Taliban guerrillas had got away on motorcycles.

 

He urged residents of the dusty, bleak former Taliban stronghold to stay away from buildings belonging to U.S. or Afghan forces, adding that they would soon be attacked.

 

A statement from the U.S. military released late on Tuesday pinned the blame for the atrocity firmly on the Taliban.

 

“This criminal attack reminds us that there are still elements of the former brutal and repressive regime committed to reversing the successes of the Afghan people,” it said.

 

On Wednesday, U.S. forces scoured a town near the Pakistani border overnight for suspects in the bombing, a spokesman said.

 

The U.S. search operation was focused on Spin Boldak, a town between Kandahar and the Pakistani frontier, Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty told the AP in an e-mail.

 

"In Spin Boldak last night, Coalition forces were pursuing suspects thought to be involved in Tuesday's attack on the civilians of Kandahar," he wrote.

 

Hilferty gave no further details, and it was unclear if  the operation was still going on.

 

There are 12,000 U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan hunting Islamic militants from the Taliban and al-Qaida. They have failed to prevent a wave of attacks and fighting that has claimed over 400 lives since early August, mainly in the southern and eastern portions of the country.

 

http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3885573&p1=0

[MrRant 0]

Well "Oops" certainly makes up for it.

[Skywarp! 0]

Wow, I've never heard of them "apologizing" before.

 

That's a travesty about those kids...it reminds me of how much we take for granted here. I can't imagine a BOMB going off while I was walking home from the 3rd grade.

[1234-5678 0]

Come on everyone, give em a break, they said they were sorry.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Ya know, JAxl, I can imagine Jerry Lawler saying that for them if this were a WWE angle...

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

You know if they're really sorry for it, then why did they do it in the first place?

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

OOOOHHHH....I could NEVER stay made at you, Taliban!

[Guest SP-1]

Look! Cold blooded terrorist killers with hearts of gold!

[Vern Gagne 0]

Should we apologize when we use a daisy cutter on one of their camps?

[Eclipse 0]

Wow......Taliban....a little too late there huh?

[Styles 0]

As the kids on the street say... "My Bad".

 

 

 

Oh yeah...I can speak your lingo!

[Lil' Bitch 0]

We So Sorry!

[Jobber of the Week 0]

As the kids on the street say... "My Bad".

I'd say a bomb going off near a school brings a whole new meaning to "the kids on the street", wouldn't you?

 

 

 

 

 

*runs, ducking the rotten fruit from the liberals and the gunfire from the conservatives*

[Vern Gagne 0]

All kidding aside. Why know? After years of showing no remorse, they issue this fake apology.

[2GOLD 0]

All kidding aside. Why know? After years of showing no remorse, they issue this fake apology.

 

Simple: They made a New Year resolution to be a kinder gentler terrorist group.

 

Wait till they send Bush a "We are sorry" cake and a six pack of beer.

[C Dubya 04 0]

I think that I read this differently then the rest of you. I took this to mean that they were sorry for hitting the wrong people. They intended to attack American soldiers and thus were not appologizing for the bombing, but rather for not hitting their target.

 

Either way their assholes. And who is the guy who's appologizing. If he's making statements, why doesn't someone just off the fucker.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Well, if the Taliban would just meet the U.S. military head-on they wouldn't have to worry about hitting the wrong targets...

[Red Baron 0]

Taliban?

 

They're still kicking around?

[Skywarp! 0]

Well, if the Taliban would just meet the U.S. military head-on they wouldn't have to worry about hitting the wrong targets...

Well, they would get their asses beat and they know that. That's why they engage in guerilla warfare. You need quick, clandestine strikes to take on an army much bigger and with more resources than you, like the patriots did against Britain in the Revolutionary War. Not to draw a comparison, though; the Taliban's tactics are much more deplorable, killing civilians and such.