Arrest Operation

Kabul City, April 19th 2010.  An Afghan Government statement released today indicated that nine men (including three Pakistani nationals) have been arrested in two separate locations of the capital.  One of the locations was said to be a Madrassa (religious school), the other, a nondescript family apartment in the restive eastern part of the city.

All nine men, including two teenagers and a man in his fifties, were charged with “intending to conduct terrorist acts” thought to be suicide attempts.  According to police a large quantity of arms and explosives including eight assault rifles, eight grenades, two RPG launchers, and 200 kilograms of explosives were recovered from the two locations and have now been taken into official custody.

Once again we see that crime and politics are inextricably linked in the Afghan capital.  Whilst arrests like this happen on at least a weekly basis none of the obvious questions ever seem to be answered.  

1. Where are these guns and explosives coming from?  
2. Are Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency behind the supplies to the insurgents?   
3. Perhaps they are provided by sympathetic Afghan’s who have a stash of weapons?  
4. Or maybe the insurgents are purchasing guns via the trade of drugs that filters through the Russian Mafia?

As with everything in this country being an observer of Afghan crime often leaves more questions than answers.