Incident Summary:
01/14/2011: On Friday afternoon, in Arghandab, Zabol, Afghanistan, seven Afghan taxi drivers were rounded up and beaten by unidentified militants. Later that evening, the drivers were forced into a vehicle and made to drive over a roadside bomb, killing them. Their taxis were also set on fire in the attack, causing an unknown amount of property damage to the seven taxis and the vehicle that the drivers were in when the explosion occurred. According to officials, the taxi drivers were accused of spying for the government. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it was suspected that the Taliban were responsible. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking by telephone, denied the group had any role in the killings, blaming "other elements" without giving details.
Overview
GTD ID:
201101140013
When:
2011-01-14
Country:
Afghanistan
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Kandahar
City:
Arghandab
Location Details:
The attack took place in Arghandab, Zabol, Afghanistan.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Hijacking |
Type of Attack () |
Facility/Infrastructure Attack |
Type of Attack () |
Unarmed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Business |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
Taxi drivers |
Nationality of Target |
Afghanistan |
Target Type: Transportation |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
Seven taxis were also targeted in the attack. |
Nationality of Target |
Afghanistan |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Melee |
Hands, Feet, Fists |
Explosives |
Unknown Explosive Type |
Incendiary |
Arson/Fire |
Weapon Details |
Unknown melee, explosive and incendiary devices were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking by telephone, denied the group had any role in the killings, blaming "other elements" without giving details. The most recent available sources listed the date for this attack from 01/13/2011 to 01/14/2011, so the majority date reported for this attack has been used in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. IED Maybe was selected in the incident details to reflect the bombing. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Taliban (suspected) |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 7 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
7 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Ismail Sameem, Hamid Shalizi, Michelle Nichols and Alex Richardson, “Seven Afghan Taxi Drivers Killed by Roadside Bomb," Reuters, February 14, 2011, http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/seven-afghan-taxi-drivers-killed-by-roadside-bomb/. |
Press TV, "Taxi Drivers Killed in Afghan Explosion," http://www.presstv.ir/detail/160170.html (January 14, 2011). |
International Security Assistance Force, "Afghan Civilians Killed by Insurgent IED in Arghandab," LexisNexis Academic, International Security Assistance Force, January 14, 2011. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties