KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A tribal elder was gunned down today while he was shopping in the volatile southern city of Kandahar, the latest targeted killing ahead of a NATO-led operation there that will be a critical test of the Afghan war.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Hayat Khan was “dealing with Americans and working against us.” Khan was a member of a district shura, a traditional meeting of elders and community leaders called upon to solve local issues, said Zulmai Ayubi, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor.
The attack highlights the challenges facing NATO forces ahead of a U.S.-led operation planned for this summer that aims to clear Kandahar of Taliban fighters. Kandahar is the largest city in the south and the birthplace of the Taliban, which still has considerable support here.
NATO said today that two of its service members died in southern Afghanistan a day earlier, bringing the number of international soldiers killed so far this month to six. One service member died in a roadside bomb, the other in a vehicle accident. Their identities were not immediately released.
President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan, in part to back up the Kandahar offensive.
The Taliban have launched increasingly deadly attacks ahead of the operation. Since April 12, at least 20 civilians have been killed in Kandahar, including children. Aid workers also have been the target of attack.
Last month, gunmen stormed a mosque and killed the deputy mayor of Kandahar as he knelt for evening prayers.
The looming offensive and the ongoing crime and insecurity have rattled Kandahar’s half million inhabitants, who are deeply skeptical of Western promises.
Also today, a former member of southern Zabul province’s women’s affairs department was fatally shot, said Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Police were investigating.
In northern Kunduz province today, Taliban militants killed two civilians they accused of spying for the government, said Muhbobullah Sayedi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
On Monday, a joint operation between Afghan and NATO forces killed five militants in central Afghanistan, the defense ministry said. Several militants also were arrested in Monday’s operation in Gezeb district of Daykundi province. All were involved in “disrupting security” in the area and planting roadside bombs, the ministry said.
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