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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – While the body of General Abdul Raziq, the late anti-Taliban commander, was swept away on Friday in the streets of this afghan town filled with grief and fear, the immediate consequences of the attack that Killed were getting specific.
The Afghan government has announced that the national legislative elections scheduled for Saturday would be delayed for a week in Kandahar's key province in the south of the country, where General Raziq, the police chief buried on Friday, was a prominent figure. dominant.
In addition to the general, officials said that the entire senior leadership of the province had been killed or wounded on Thursday when an armed man – a member of the security forces who reportedly joined the insurgents – opened the fire while he was going to the governor's office. with the first American commander in the country.
The American General, Austin S. Miller, was not injured and returned to his command in Kabul. Three other Americans, including a Brigadier General, were wounded, officials said, saying their injuries were not life-threatening.
General Miller appeared in the streets of Kabul, where he was filmed chatting with Afghan security forces. This gesture was seen as an attempt to revive morale after the loss of General Raziq, who occupied a prominent place in the national psyche and was revered by the security forces, despite accusations of human rights violations. The appearance of General Miller was also seen as an attempt to quash rumors that he himself was a victim of the attack.
"Yes, I'm fine, I'm fine," the general said in a video, as the Kabul police chief shakes his hand and asks questions about Kandahar.
"What happened there was an attack on the security forces. But I tell you that we will always stay with the security forces, "General Miller told ToloNews. "My assessment is that I was not the target. It was an enclosed and confined space, but I feel that I was not the target. "
Although there is still no detailed official account of what happened in the governor's compound in Kandahar, eyewitnesses provided additional information on Friday. They said that the afternoon meeting at the governor's office was over and that General Raziq, General Miller and the rest of the leaders had come out a back door after briefly speaking to reporters.
They were waiting to leave for the governor's guesthouse, after landing one of their helicopters and the second one underway, witnesses said. Officials were chatting in small groups, some taking pictures, when the shooter opened fire.
Testimony of the witnesses varied – some claimed that the shooter fired indiscriminately, while others claimed that he was targeting General Raziq before emptying his magazine of others.
A complicated shootout followed and the striker was shot in the head by one of General Miller's guards, a senior official said. At least one eyewitness testified that General Miller was within a few meters of General Raziq.
"We all went to the shelter. It was finished in seconds, "said Colonel Dave Butler, spokesman for the US Army in Afghanistan, who was in Kandahar with General Miller, without providing further details. He added that General Miller was assured that the wounded would be cared for and treated before leaving the premises.
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