Bomber blows it

[Virginian]

I wonder if you still get your virgins when you botch a suicide attack.

Bomber Botches Afghanistan Suicide Attack
Sunday, March 19, 2006

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A suspected suicide attacker triggered a car bomb near a convoy of French troops Sunday in southern Afghanistan, killing himself but injuring no one else, Afghan officials said.

The car was parked on the side of the main road linking the southern city of Kandahar to the Pakistani border and the attacker set off the explosives as the troops passed, a government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media.

An Interior Ministry spokesman, Yousuf Stanezai, confirmed the attack but said he had no other details.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb in eastern Paktika province Saturday killed a police chief and a second officer, while two policemen were wounded, said local police commander Shah Wali.

Also Saturday, a shootout between Taliban fighters and in the Maywand district of Kandahar left two policemen and two attackers dead, Stanezai said.

Four other policemen went missing after the fighting and they are believed to have been abducted by the Taliban. One attacker was captured, he said.

The Taliban have stepped up their insurgency in the past year, causing a spike in fighting across Afghanistan.

[Andrewtx]

I read an interesting article a while ago -- I think I posted it -- about the increasingly dismal training that various bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving and how more and more they're blowing themselves up in the process of making these bombs. It's a positive sign, I think, of their disorganization.

[Virginian]

I'm writing a huge ass paper on al-Qa'ida right now, from its inception to now. It's amazing how quickly it's actually falling apart, and how the organization's capabilities are reduced since 2001.

[Andrewtx]

I'm writing a huge ass paper on al-Qa'ida right now, from its inception to now. It's amazing how quickly it's actually falling apart, and how the organization's capabilities are reduced since 2001.

Hey, that reminds me -- that research paper you sent to me was great reading. Keep up the good work!

[Virginian]

Thanks! It was rushed and had some serious filler in it, but not bad. I'm thinking when I'm finished writing my next couple papers I might use my vacant web space as a terrorism information site. Might be good to offer information in a way that average citizens can understand what the threats really are, and how they should plan.