MANTRAYA DATABASE#03: 21 JANUARY 2016
1 January: Transition of power from the NATO-led coalition forces to Afghan National Security forces and the beginning of the NATO-led non-combat Resolute Mission.
1 January: Taliban carry out attack on a team of 200 former Taliban fighters in Qosh Tapa district of Jawzjan, who were on their way to declare their allegiance to the government in Northern Afghanistan. This is the second attack in a week’s time.
5 January: A suicide attack on the European Union Police mission in Pul-e-Charkhi area in the eastern part of Kabul kills at least one civilian dead and injures five others.
5 January : A suicide attack on the NATO –led coalition forces in eastern Nangarhar province, on the highway between Jalalabad city and Torkham, by the anti-government militias. No casualties reported, only a NATO vehicle damaged in the attack.
7 January: A group of suicide bombers carry out an attack on the police academy in the eastern city of Khost. No casualties were reported, and two militants were shot dead in an encounter following the attack.
7 January: Taliban set the house of governor of Maidan Wardak province on fire.
13 January: Explosion in Kabul city, using a civilian Toyota Corolla vehicle, leaves one person dead and four injured.
14 January: Three civilians killed in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) explosion carried out by Taliban in Paktia province.
17 January: Defense Ministry of Afghanistan announces the death of seven ANA soldiers in an IED explosion. Statement adds that the military operations were conducted in Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, Logar, Khost, Paktiya, Lagman, Khost and Helmand where police recovered heavy and light weight ammunition.
18 January: A suicide attack targeting the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) in Dorahi area of the city of Lashkargah, capital of southern Helmand province kills four and injures ten others.
18 January: A suicide attack targeting Haji Sayed Khan Khakrezi, chairman of the provincial council of Kandahar, injures a child. Khakrezi escapes unhurt.
19 January: Taliban claim responsibility for the landmine attack targeting Afghan National Army in Laghman province which leaves two soldiers dead.
21 January: IED explosion targeting the security forces in Ghazni province results in eight civilian causalities.
22 January: Suicide attack targeting the ANCOP convoy in Lashkar Gah kills two a civilian and a security force personnel dead and 16 others injured.
24 January: An explosive laden truck explodes in the outskirts of Kabul city injuring two civilians.
25 January: A motorcycle parked on the road side explodes in Panjwaee district of southern Kandahar province and injures left two policemen and a civilian injured.
28 January: Explosives plated on a motorcycle go off in Kandahar injuring eight people including four Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel.
28 January: Unidentified gunmen attack two schools (one Girls’ and one Boys’) in Haska Mina district of eastern Nangarhar province.
31 January: Explosion inside a mosque in northern Samangan province injures seven people.
31 January: IED explosion in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province kills four Afghan Border Police (ABP) personnel.
2 February: Taliban gunmen attack a security check post in Chasht district of Herat killing four policemen.
7 February: Multiple suicide explosions in Kandahar city as the new Interior Minister Noorulhaq Olumi assumes office.
7 February: Insurgents blow up a girls school and a clinic in the eastern Kunar province’s Naray district.
9 February: Unidentified gunmen set fire to a school in Momand Dara district of eastern Nangarhar province.
11 February: Insurgents set fire to a co-education school in Sawan area of Dangam district.
19 February : An explosion carried out by two Taliban insurgents in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province kills four people including a police personnel and injures eight others. Both insurgents were killed by the security forces.
26 February: A Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attack carried out by the Taliban insurgents targeting the convoy belonging to the embassy of Turkey in Kabul kills two persons including a Turkish national.
2 March: Two separate roadside blasts occur in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar killing eight persons including two school children.
3 March : Suicide attack targeting the security forces kills five civilians and two security personnel in Helmand province.
8 March: An explosion takes place in Istiqlal High School, a Franco-Afghan school in Kabul city. A suicide attack had targeted the school previously in December 2014.
10 March: VBIED attack in the Bolan area of Lashkargah kills eight security personnel and injures 23 others.
12 March : Eight Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel on their way from Dasht-e-Arche to Khwaja Ghar in Takhar province killed in a Taliban ambush. While four were killed in the attack, the rest were capture and killed afterwards by the insurgents who decamped with their weapons.
14 March: An IED explosion in Nangarhar province kills three children.
18 March: An explosive laden car hits the building of governor’s office in Lashkargah leaving seven killed and 41 injured. The Taliban claims responsibility for the attack.
21 March: Amidst the Nowruz celebrations, three people killed in a roadside mine blast in Kunduz province.
25 March: A suicide attack close to the Presidential palace and the Ministry of Finance kills seven people and injures 31 others.
29 March: A suicide attack targeting a meeting of People’s Council of Paktia kills three people and injures eight others.
31 March : Seven people killed in an IED explosion in Ghazni province.
2 April: A roadside mine explosion in Logar province kills seven persons including four children. A car carrying two families had driven over the bomb.
5 April : Roadside mine explosion in Helmand province kills three ANA soldiers and injures three civilians.
6 April: Three ALP personnel killed in a roadside mine explosion in Ahmadkhil district of Paktia province.
9 April: Insurgents set fire to a village mosque in Faryab province.
9 April: Insurgents carry out an attack on an ANA outpost in Faryab province resulting in the deaths of four soldiers.
10 April: Suicide car bombing carried out by Taliban in Despechari area, Police District nine of capital Kabul, targeting vehicles of foreign troops injures three persons.
10 April: An attack by the Taliban in Jalalabad kills four civilians and injures 12 others.
10 April: A roadside explosion in Ghazni province kills 12 civilians.
11 April: Five abducted Afghan aid workers from the ‘Save the Children’ organisation found dead in Uruzgan.
12 April: Taliban and Islamic State cadres carry out separate attacks on a number of ANA check posts in Jurm district of Badakhshan province killing 28 soldiers..
14 April: Taliban attack an ANP post in central Bamyan injuring four personnel.
14 April: The Taliban insurgents attack a police post in Khwaja Ghar district of Takhar province killing two ANP personnel and stealing military weapons from the outposts.
16 April: An 11-year old boy killed and three others injured in a missile attack in Paktika.
16 April: Taliban attack a police post in Nangarhar province killing of a local police personnel.
22 April: Ghulam Haidar, Nangarhar’s deputy prosecutor and his driver killed in a roadside mine explosion in the province’s Bahsod district.
22 April: An local police official of the Bati Kott district in Nangarhar province and a civilian injured in an explosion in Kama district.
23 April: Seven civilians killed in a roadside mine explosion in Nimruz province.
23 April: Seven ANP personnel killed in an insurgent attack on a border post in Bala Murghab district of Badghis province. Three personnel abducted by the insurgents following the attack.
24 April: Taliban initiate their azm (spring offensive) by attacking Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) positions, two days after making an announcement to that effect.
26 April: Taliban carry out attack on police posts in Ghazni province killing two policemen.
26 April: The governor of Kunduz, Mohammad Omar Safi states that several villages in the province have come under the control of the Taliban.
28 April: Reinforcement troops sent to provide backup to the ANA personnel in Kunduz after Taliban insurgents surround them.
28 April: Large scale operation against the Taliban insurgents launched by the ANA in Imam Sahib in Kunduz province.
30 April: Insurgents carry out explosions in Kandahar, Kunduz and Laghman provinces resulting in unspecified number of civilian causalities.
4 May: Ten police bases in Warduj district of north-eastern Badakhshan province are attacked by the Taliban.
4 May: Suicide attack in Kabul city’s 6th Police district targeting a vehicle of the Afghan Attorney General Office (AGO) kills two civilians and injures 20 others. The attack takes place even as an official peace delegation holds talks with the Taliban in Qatar to end the ongoing violence.
9 May: A large number of Taliban insurgents carry out an early morning attack on the military posts on the Herat-Kandahar highway in western Farah province. The five-hour long attack ends after additional troops along with helicopter support are sent to the area. The forces suffer no casualty.
10 May: A suicide attack carried out by the Taliban insurgent in Dar-ul Aman Road of Kabul city kills two civilians.
10 May: Jawand district of Badghis province falls into the hands of the Taliban.
12 May: Dozens of Taliban insurgents carry out an early morning attack in Shindand district of Herat province and clash with security forces.
14 May: Taliban insurgents attack the Park Palace Hotel in Kabul city killing 14 people, mostly foreign nationals and aid workers (one Briton with dual Afghan nationality, four Indians, two Pakistanis, and one citizen from each of the US, Italy and Kazakhstan) awaiting a concert. The gunmen reportedly went room to room seeking foreigners.
19 May: More than two hundred ABP personnel come under heavy attack by the Taliban in the Bala Murghab district of Badghis province, along the border with Turkmenistan.
19 May: A suicide car bombing attack outside the offices of Ministry of Justice in Kabul kills four people and injures over 40.
21 May: Taliban carry out an attack on the military posts of Shindand district in Herat. Troop reinforcements deter the attack and result in the killing of nine insurgents and capture of their vehicles.
22 May: Ten security outposts seized by the insurgents in Uruzgan province’s Khas Urozgan district. Following the attack, 40 police personnel join the Taliban with all their equipments.
25 May: Suicide truck bomb attack in the Zabul province kills four civilians and injures 73.
26 May: A Taliban attack in Helmand province kills 19 policemen and seven ANA soldiers.
28 May: A Meshrano Jirga (Upper House) senator Mohammad Hanif Hanafi confirms that around fifty Afghan Security posts in Uruzgan province have been captured by Taliban.
1 June: In an overnight attack, nine aid workers belonging to the Czech Republic’s People in Need humanitarian organization asleep in their bed killed by the insurgents in Balkh province. People in Need has been operating in Afghanistan since 2001, delivering aid to remote communities in the east and north of the country.
4 June: Suicide car bombing at a police checkpoint in Lashkargarh city kills three ANP officers.
6 June: Taliban insurgents take control of the Yamgan district in Badakhshan province. Security forces retreat following an attack by the insurgents including foreigners.
12 June: Armed insurgents launch a massive attack on Keshk-e-Kohna district of Herat province.
13 June: Two check posts in southern Zabul province come under a Taliban attack.
14 June: Taliban ambush in Ghor province kills an ANA Commander and two soldiers.
14 June: A roadside mine explosion in Ashkamish district of Takhar province kills five people including the district governor Hamidullah Haqyar. The governor was visiting the security check posts when his vehicle hit the mine.
20 June: Taliban initiates its summer offensive in northern districts of Helmand. Musa Qala and Kajaki are the worst affected.
20 June: Taliban take control of the Chahar Dara district of Kunduz province.
22 June: A complex attack involving a car bomb and gunmen on the Afghan Parliament building in Kabul kills five persons and injures 31. All seven attackers killed by the security forces.
22 June: Taliban capture the second district of Kunduz, Dasht-e-Archi. Mohammad Yusuf Ayubi, head of the provincial council, says local forces suffered casualties. Around 150,000 residents of the district trapped by the fighting. The Taliban confirm the development and say that they have captured ammunition and four tanks.
23 June: Police posts in northern Baghlan province attacked by the Taliban insurgents, resulting in a violent clash between the security forces and the Taliban insurgents.
23 June: ANSF personnel retake the Chahar Dara district of Kunduz province amid heavy fighting in the region.
25 June: Taliban manage to control of over half the districts in Baghlan province.
25 June: Takhar province bordering Tajikistan comes under Taliban attack.
26 June: Waygal district of Nuristan province falls into the hands of the Taliban, the provincial police chief confirms. He says two nights ago dozens of Taliban insurgents attacked the district and the district eventually collapsed. Both sides suffer unspecified number of casualties.
29 June: Taliban ambush a military convoy in the Masjed-e-Chobi area of Herat province and kill eleven soldiers. Six other soldiers injured and the insurgents seize the weapons of the soldiers.
30 June: A suicide attacker drives an explosive-laden vehicle into a NATO military convoy in Kabul. An Afghan national is killed and 21 others were injured in the attack. Two coalition soldiers suffer minor injuries. The troops had been travelling in armoured vehicles specially designed to withstand mines and roadside bombs, while the Afghan casualties were mostly pedestrians outside a row of shops.
(Compiled by V. Vidya Lakshmi. This timeline is a part of Mantraya.org’s “Mapping Terror and Insurgent Networks” project. Vidya is a project intern with the project.)
