Incident Summary:
01/28/2011: On Friday, at the Finest Supermarket in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul city, Kabul province, Afghanistan, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive laden vest after opening fire inside the supermarket with an automatic rifle and throwing three or more grenades into the aisles, killing eight people and wounding six others. The deceased were all Afghan civilians, including a family of six and five of the wounded were foreigners. The nationalities of the foreigners are unknown, but it was reported that two Americans were among the victims; however, this report was not been confirmed. The store was left on fire and the attack caused damage to the store and nearby buildings. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that two important French nationals were the main targets of the attack. The suicide attacker was identified as Mohammed Shoaib from North Waziristan, Pakistan. Two other militants involved in the attack were identified as Talib Jan, who had helped organize the attack from inside prison by giving instructions to visitors, and Mohammed Khan, who was suspected of transporting the suicide attacker to the supermarket. Khan has been taken into custody by security officials.
Overview
GTD ID:
201101280012
When:
2011-01-28
Country:
Afghanistan
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Kabul
City:
Kabul
Location Details:
The attack took place at the Finest Supermarket in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Business |
Name of Entity |
Finest Supermarket |
Specific Description |
Afghan and foreign civilians were targeted at the Finest Supermarket in Kabul. |
Nationality of Target |
Afghanistan |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
Two French nationals were the intended targets of the attack. |
Nationality of Target |
France |
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 |
Explosives |
Suicide (carried bodily by human being) |
Explosives |
Grenade |
Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
Weapon Details |
A suicide explosive vest, three or more grenades and an automatic rifle were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | Yes |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that two important French nationals were the main targets of the attack. The most recent available sources listed the fatalities for this attack from eight to nine to 14, and the injuries for this attack from six to 15, so the majority casualty figures have been used in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. The nationalities of the foreigners are unknown, but it was reported that two Americans were among the victims; however, this report has not been confirmed. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Taliban |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Unknown) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
3 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
1 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
9 Fatalities / 6 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
9 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
Total Number of Injured |
6 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
Unknown |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Press TV, "Blast in Afghan Capital Claims Lives," http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162376.html (January 28, 2011). |
Rod Nordland and Taimoor Shah, "Afghan Family Dies in Attack on Market," New York Times, January 29, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/world/asia/30kabul.html?ref=asia. |
Daily Times, "Suicide Blast Kills Afghan District Governor: Police," Agence France Presse, January 11, 2011, http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\11\story_11-2-2011_pg7_33. |
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