Car Bomb Kills Nine in Afghanistan as Koran-Burning Violence Continues

Reuters
Alexander Abad-Santos 1,215 Views Feb 27, 2012

Less than a week after the NATO Koran burning incident at Bagram Air Base, a suicide car bomber attacked Jalalabad airport on Monday and killed nine. Though Reuters reports that there hasn't been an official indication that the explosion was linked to the deadly protests in the past week, the Taliban has already claimed responsibility. Though Reuters notes that the airport is primarily used by NATO and U.S. officials, NATO said that it had no reports of members of international forces among the casualties. "This attack is revenge against those soldiers who burned our Koran," said a Taliban spokesman in the BBC's report, which details that more than 30 people have been killed in the wake of last week's protests.

This past weekend, Ambassador Ryan Crocker revealed that the U.S. had no intention of backing down even though the anti-American sentiment rages and top advisers had been pulled out of Kabul. "This is not the time to decide that we’re done here," said Crocker in an AP report on Sunday. "If we decide we’re tired of it, al-Qaeda and the Taliban certainly aren’t." 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by Alexander Abad-Santos

Koran Burning at Bagram Air Base Draws the Ire of Thousands

Taliban Wants as Much Credit as it Can Get for Dempsey Attack

Atheist Assistant Has Military Chaplain's Back

 

The Murder of Mark Carson: A Hate Crime Where It Wasn't Expected

Thankfully, No One Was Hurt in Miguel's Meme-Ready Stage Dive

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App