Incident Summary:

08/24/2019: Assailants attacked a police outpost along a highway in Qalat, Zabul, Afghanistan. At least 15 people, including eight officers and seven assailants, were killed and another ten people, including six officers and four assailants, were injured in the attack. Additionally, at least two people were abducted and their whereabouts are unknown. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the incident.

GTD ID:
201908250010

When:
2019-08-24

Country:
Afghanistan

Region:
South Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Zabul

City:
Qalat

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Kidnapping)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Police
Name of Entity Afghan Police
Specific Description Outpost
Nationality of Target Afghanistan
Additional Information
Hostages Yes
Number of Hostages 2
US Hostages 0
Outcome Unknown
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Unknown
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Casualty numbers conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the most reliable estimates are reported here.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Taliban Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: E-mail)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 11
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 15 Fatalities / 10 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 15
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 7
Total Number of Injured 10
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 4
Sources
"Afghan War Casualty Report: Aug. 23-29," New York Times, August 29, 2019.
"Taliban reportedly kill 16 soldiers in south Afghan attack," Afghan Islamic Press news agency, August 26, 2019.
"15 Taliban militants killed in Zabul clashes," Frontier Post, August 25, 2019.