Ghani sends high-ranking delegation including ministers of defense and interior and the head of the NDS to Kandahar to probe incident.
Immediately following the Thursday’s attack in Kandahar that killed the provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq, Kandahar’s governor Zalmai Wesa, the provincial NDS chief Abdulmomin Hassankhail and a senior Afghan National Army official messages of condemnation started flooding in.
President Ashraf Ghani also reportedly sent a high-ranking delegation to Kandahar, along with special forces, to investigate the incident.
The attack happened after high-ranking officials, including Resolute Support commander Gen. Austin Scott Miller, had wrapped up a meeting with the governor and were making their way to a helipad in the governor’s compound.
According to sources, at least one of the governor’s bodyguards opened fire on the officials.
Resolute Support issued a statement on Thursday evening stating Miller had escaped unharmed but that at least two Americans had been wounded in the attack.
The officials had reportedly met to discuss Saturday’s parliamentary elections that are due to be held countrywide.
In a Tweet on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack. “Deeply shocked and saddened by the dastardly terrorist attack in Kandahar. India condemns it most strongly and mourns with our Afghan brethren the loss of life, including that of Kandahar’s senior leadership.”
He also said that India stands together with the Afghan people and government in fighting terrorism.
“We stand in solidarity with the brave people of Afghanistan in fighting terrorism imposed on them,” he said.
British ambassador to Afghanistan Nicholas Kay also expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack and reaffirmed his country’s support to the peace process.
“Shocked by today’s killings in #Kandahar. Deepest sympathy for the bereaved. We stand firm with Afghans in the face of violence and all attempts to derail political progress and peace,” he tweeted.
Col. Knut Peters, a Resolute Support spokesman said in a statement Thursday evening : “There was a situation at the Kandahar palace today. Initial reports indicate this was an Afghan-on-Afghan incident. Two Americans were wounded in the cross-fire and they have been medically evacuated. General Miller is uninjured. We are being told the area is secure. Initial reports also say the attacker is dead.”
Raziq was considered a legendary symbol of resistance against the Taliban insurgency in the southern parts of Afghanistan, particularly in Kandahar province – once the Taliban’s heartland.
