Cheering for Mass Murder
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
(a quick, unedited message from Kabul)
Hotel Under Fire
29 June 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan
There is heavy security around Kabul. A “ring of steel,” as they call it, which is under Afghan authority. I’ve been driving around Kabul for several weeks and have never seen a foreign guard, and seldom see US or other forces on the roads. I’ve been walking around town, shopping in shops and eating in restaurants. All day yesterday and today I was out in the city with no weapon and no troops. I wear Western clothes and sunglasses and seldom get an extra look while driving around in various sorts of taxis and private cars. Expats are out past midnight at the few local restaurants that sell alcohol. This is not Baghdad. Fighting there was nearly constant and often sustained. If this were Baghdad, I’d have been dead the first day. Any ideas that Kabul is falling are remarkably wrong. There are, however, some dangers and occasional suicide attacks that are nakedly designed to get press.
Last night, as I was preparing for bed, a message arrived from a US military officer cautioning about an ongoing attack with approximately six suicide bombers. I am staying off base so the military was just making sure all was okay. I responded immediately to affirm all is okay. I am far from the attack. I had not even heard any explosions or gunfire. Six minutes later, Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mojahid emailed me. My normal translators were asleep, so I sent it back to the US military asking for a translation, and they were kind enough to help:
News release from Zabihullah Mojahid:
At 10.00 pm our Devoted Mojahid attacked Hotel Intercontinental in Kabul while 300 Afghans and foreign occupier countries high rank officials are attending a gathering in the hotel; the attack is still ongoing. First, the Mujahedin killed the security officers at the gate and then they entered the Hotel. They killed and injured many of the high rank officials, both Afghans and foreigners. Just minutes ago, the devoted Mojahid called me from the Hotel and told me that they are fighting successfully. We lost only one Mujaheed. We are in every level of the hotel. So far we killed 50 of the domestic and foreign enemies. Right now, we are in all saloons and we go rooms to rooms and kill one by one of those who managed to go to their rooms, they are foreigners. Tonight 300 were gathered for an important meeting. INSHALLAH all will be killed.
Zabihullah was telling the truth, at least partly. He has been consistently fast about getting out the Taliban message. Usually, from what I have seen, there is a basis in truth and then Zabihullah gets into wild overstatement. I’ve never seen him completely lie, or completely tell the truth, though it’s possible he does both at times.
By now it was after midnight and sirens could be heard, and aircraft in the distance. I heard an unconfirmed report that men could be seen firing from the roof of the hotel, and could be seen smoking. If this were true, our helicopters would kill them shortly. I heard a distant explosion from the direction of the hotel, posted it to Facebook and then went to bed.
This morning, I asked some contacts for photos, and I bought the copyright for these images from Nazir Ekhlass. Nazir explained each photo to me. Nazir had his camera on a tripod and used a timer, keeping the shutter open for around twenty seconds.
Nazir explained that there was much shooting from numerous places. Helicopters arrived and began taking groundfire.
Firing on helicopters.
Firing more on helicopters.
There were multiple firing points that were not on the hotel.
I doubt these were helicopters. Possibly UAVs that turned their lights on to avoid air traffic or to distract the terrorists.
This image is computer generated synthesis of the previous images.
Comments
Thanks for your continual coverage of the events happening in Afghanistan. Stay safe...
I pray for all the guests at the hotel. Sometimes I wish we Americans could go everywhere armed.
Great work..and that you are permitted to get the truth out to us... wonder if all the lights above the hill are illumination to light up the men on the ground using the machine guns against us and our aircraft
Feral, the idea on tracers for the propaganda is an interesting thought that had not crossed my mind. Am going to file that one away for future reference.
Ron, am thinking the lights above the hill are just muzzle flashes. This is a guess. As you know, attack helicopters don't need ANY illumination to spot hot targets on a roof. But who knows? Maybe they shot illum for the ground fight below??? I could find out but probably not a good expenditure of effort.
Insofar as how Nazir got the camera set up, the fight lasted maybe 10 hours. Nazir lives right there so it would be simple. I saw some of his camera gear and we talked photography while downloading the photos. This guy is smart and seems more like an artist than a Taliban plant. Most Afghans hate the Taliban. Especially the smart Afghans.
Good pictures to see, I was wondering about the tracers also. Someone else got good pictures and you didnt have to!
Praying for your path.
The next day I got to talk to some students. They said that there were 17 killed. Then they told me the subtotals (if memory serves): 10 Afghan police, 4 foreign guests, 3 Afghan civilians and 6 Talibs. I said, "That adds up to more than 17?" They looked at each other for a moment and said, "Of course, Sir, we do not count the Talibs among the people killed."
The attack in Mumbai was planned and practiced over months, with little or no local assistance against a civil force that was in effect unarmed. When they met resistance the gunmen changed direction of attack, away from that resistance. I don't doubt that parts of this attack matched the tactics used by the LET, and I don't for a minute doubt a connection exists to Pakistani Islamist's. That this is not a purely "Afghan Taliban" operation seems likely to me. Perhaps you have some insight on the question there, that we cannot see long distance?
Thank you Mike for sharing these great snaps with all of us... keep doing good work and stay safe.....
@Ryan: setting a camera in a bulb option and setting the ISO and Aperture is not a big deal it only takes Max 1 minute. as Michael said this occasion was not for 5 minutes, i heard the firing at 10:00 PM and start taking photos at 10:10. my house located right in front of Intercontinenta l Hotel.
http://alemarah-iea.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8854:latest-updates-on-kabul-operation-more-than-90-killed&catid=1:news&Itemid=2
http://alemarah-iea.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8820:martyr-attacks-shake-kabul-city&catid=1:news&Itemid=2
Wow......you always put things in perspective with your photographs!!
A too often forgotten truth is that you can live through actual events of history and completely miss the underlying reality of what's going on. It is what it is.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
ISAIAH Ch14, v12
Please keep it up.
Yes I saw these same picture I believe on NBC news. These images are excellent, thanks Michael. Activclient has helped in many ways.
RSS