Air Force Explosives Team Disarms, Removes Deadly Threat
POORAK, Afghanistan —
In the environment that students find themselves in Afghanistan violence can often be a part of life. But it’s not everyday where a bomb is rigged to explode in a girl’s school. Fundamentalist extremists are believed to be the authors of the deadly unit, aimed at the female population of a school in Logar Province.
About four hundred girls are registered at the school in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban targeted the Poorak Girls School because they believe that a woman should not be educated in schools.
“The leaders and members of the Taliban are radical, and do not want to have girls go to school at all,†said Colonel Abdul Majeed Latifi. Colonel Latifi is the deputy police chief in nearby Logan. “I am certain one hundred percent that this was the handiwork of the Talibanâ€. Said Col. Latifi.
Afghan and U.S. Forces found two bombs last Thursday. In one case, a grenade was planted and set to explode at the guard building at the entrance to the school. A specialized U.S. explosives team from the Air Force drove in thick snow to reach the village, shortly after getting the call from Colonel’s Latifi.
Upon their arrival to the Poorak Girls School, one explosive team member found the first of the two bombs underneath a walking footbridge near the school. It was comprised of two 82 mm type mortars, and attached to a 24-inch recoil less rifle round, and a pound of explosives wired together with it in a bag made up from rags- but all deadly serious and wired to batteries.
The footbridge bomb was found just fifteen feet from the nearest Afghan family residence. The lady of the house opened the door only inches when speaking to troops, fearful of attracting attention from the Taliban.
