After the Taliban Bombings
By AKHTAR MOHD
Published: March 29th, 2010
- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: The string of bombings that rocked the city of Kandahar on March 14 left 35 people dead and injured 60 others. I went to the sites of the blasts that same day to take pictures and talk to people. This man was standing in the rubble of what used to be his house. He said he was waiting for more family members to come help him dig out the bricks and search for his possessions.
- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: When I noticed this schoolboy looking in the rubble I asked him what he was doing. He said he was keeping his eyes open for anything useful that he might find to take home. Someone's loss could be someone else's gain.
- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: One of the explosions razed these modest shops along the road to Sarposa prison. When I arrived, the vendors were working to salvage their goods and transport them elsewhere, “to protect them from looters,” they said. Several vendors complained that theft after Taliban attacks has become a major problem. “The police does nothing to secure damaged property,” said one vendor.
- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: The owners of one of the houses that was destroyed by the Taliban encircled it with tape and barbered wire to prevent thieves from entering the property. They also hired a guard to sit on a chair in the middle of the rubble and make sure that no one trespasses.
- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN: This man told me he was trying to salvage something from his car. However, I am not sure if that was actually his car. Later that day I heard on the radio that a Taliban spokesman had claimed the attacks, stating that the bombs were a response to the news that NATO and the United States are planning to launch a major offensive in the city of Kandahar in the coming months. In the words of the Taliban, this is just a taste of what might come if foreign troops initiate a battle for Kandahar.