KABUL: On a quiet autumn day last month, defenders for the governor of the northern Afghani Kunduz region, Abdul Sattar Mirzakawl, played a ball-volleyball match in the garden of the governor’s inn next to his residence.
Suddenly, an explosion went off, killing four of the players.
Although Kunduz has long been the quietest area in northern Afghanistan due to the heavy Taliban presence and routine violence, officials investigating the attack were appalled by the fact that they could not confirm the immediately how it happened.
It took them a day to decide that it was a device attached to a small drone that was released into space, part of a new method used by the Taliban in their rebirth war that lasted nearly 20 year as the U.S. prepares to withdraw troops by next spring.
“Initially, people could not distinguish the source of the explosion, but later it became clear that the Taliban had placed a mine or explosives under a drone that killed four defense agencies. the governor, ”Ghulam Rabbani Rabbani, a member of Kunduz regional council, told Arab News.
“Without a doubt, it was a new invention and it shows the Taliban using special techniques in the war.”
Despite several other drone attacks against military and police bases in the Baghlan, Faryab, Logar, Paktia and Helmand districts for some months, the most deadly November strike was according to officials who conducted Arab News interviews.
Back in May, a similar attack in Kunduz claimed the lives of one officer and injured four others at a farewell ceremony for a former governor, according to Rabbani and two regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A week ago, commando forces fired down an “armed drone” in the Logar district, south of Kabul, according to news reports.
“Drones-related weapons and ammunition are emerging as the latest lethal move on the Afghan battlefield,” wrote Bilal Sarwary, a well-known journalist in Afghanistan.
A senior general in the army in Kabul who wanted to remain anonymous told Arab News how the terrorists first used camera drones in Helmand for the filming of a major African-US joint venture six years ago.
The film had helped the militants plot and carry out a massive commando-style attack on the full defense base that resulted in casualties and tens of millions of dollars of material loss.
“I saw the film of the attack released by the Taliban later. The camera had recorded the whole attack as it was going on, ”he explained.
The insurgents have also used drone cameras in filming other weapons bases to prepare for attacks, the general said, adding that he also heard that they are now placing mines or small explosives under the drones. are commercially available for attacks.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, confirmed to Arab News the use of a drone, but declined to provide other details such as where to find them and how long they have been using the method. seo.
“Such information is always confidential, we cannot discuss this matter.”
Spokesmen for the interior ministry and defense declined to comment on the Taliban’s use of “armed drones”.
A spokesman for the office of President Ashraf Ghani’s national security adviser, Rahmatullah Andar, said the Taliban have used drones since last year, with explosives in several attacks in different parts of Afghanistan.
But he said “they are not a major threat to the government and a large gathering of soldiers because we have measures in place.”
While Andar underlined the importance of the low-end drones threat, retired general Javid Kohestani described it as a worrying development and a new invention by the terrorists who are on some day-to-day technologies. used today, such as night vision and thermal optics into operations a few years ago.
“It is dangerous if they can develop and reuse it. It is cheap and easy to carry and operate, ”he told Arab News.
“The government does not have the air detection and protection equipment and it is difficult to find them in the dark and even during the day because soldiers do not have the right to look at the sky all day.
“These drones can film bases with large numbers of soldiers and then target them. If the government can’t stop it, it would be dangerous, ”Kohestani said.