In Afghan Attack, Death Toll Hits 21, Mostly Foreigners
KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 21 people — most of them foreigners — died when the Taliban struck a restaurant popular with Westerners in downtown Kabul, the police said Saturday, as officials described what appeared to be a well-coordinated assault, with a suicide bomber clearing a path for two gunmen who rushed in and fired on diners
The attack appeared to be one of the deadliest against Western civilians in Kabul since 2001, with Afghan and Western officials saying as many as 13 of the dead were expatriates. The United States Embassy in Kabul said Saturday that two Americans were killed, and Afghan authorities said that among the dead were citizens of Canada, Russia and Lebanon.
Though Afghan and Western authorities were still trying to determine the identities of all those killed, the office of Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said in a statement issued late Friday that “four United Nations personnel, along with a number of those from other international organizations, are now confirmed dead." One of those U.N. officials was its chief political affairs officer in Afghanistan, Vadim Nazarov, a longtime employee with the organization here, the Russian Embassy said Saturday. Mr. Nazarov, a Russian, was highly regarded for his years spent on the ground and his understanding of Afghan politics.
The International Monetary Fund said its representative in Afghanistan, Wabel Abdallah, was also among those killed. Mr. Abdallah, 60, had served in Afghanistan since 2008, and had managed to maintain a good working relationship with Afghan officials through a series of scandals that left many western officials at odds with their Afghan counterparts.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/world/asia/afghanistan-restaurant-attack.html
a clusterfuck of serious proportions. the troop increases, etc were a disastrous waste of time and resources.
