Afghan Attack Follows An Upsurge in Threats; Taliban Role in Question as 12 Are Arrested

The white helicopter was about to take off from a southern Afghanvillage, where its passengers had inspected a health clinic beingrebuilt with American aid. A crowd of villagers had gathered to wavegoodbye when automatic-rifle fire burst from two hiding spots.

The pilot and four passengers -- an American woman, two securityguards and an interpreter -- tried to jump out, but four of the fivewere hit by bullets. The guards, both wounded, returned fire, and onedialed his satellite phone for help. Within minutes a U.S. warplanewas overhead, but the attackers escaped, leaving the pilot dead andtwo passengers seriously wounded.

These harrowing details were provided Monday by sources familiarwith the Sunday morning incident in Kandahar province -- the latestin a series of assaults by armed extremist groups against foreign andAfghan aid workers. The helicopter crew and passengers worked for theLouis Berger Group, a U.S. aid contractor.

An Afghan official in the city of Kandahar, close to where theincident took place, said 12 men had been arrested in connection withthe attack, the Reuters news service reported.

The attack came as spokesmen from the Taliban movement, theIslamic militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan, have stepped upthreats to violently disrupt the country's economic and politicalreconstruction, including voter registration and elections plannedfor June. Two purported Taliban officials asserted responsibility forSunday's assault.

The incident also coincided with reports that Pakistan's militarygovernment was preparing to launch several major search operations inthe semi-autonomous tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan,which Taliban and al Qaeda forces are believed to use as staginggrounds for attacks inside Afghanistan.

In the past week, various unconfirmed press reports have said thata house recently used by Osama bin Laden, the fugitive Saudi leaderof the al Qaeda terrorist network, had been discovered near thePakistani city of Quetta, and that one of bin Laden's top lieutenantshad been sighted in a border area that was now surrounded byPakistani forces.

The top U.S. military spokesman here said Monday he could notconfirm either report. He played down the seriousness of the Talibanthreat, saying that Sunday's attack was the work of a lone gunmanrather than a coordinated effort, and he derided a recent flurry ofTaliban threats as "gibberish" and "hallucinations."

"The so-called Taliban spokesmen are not credible at all. Theytalk in complete gibberish," said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty. He notedthat self-proclaimed Taliban officials had described incidents inwhich 50 U.S. Special Forces troops were "dying in the snow" and 15Italian troops were killed in Khost province. Both accounts wereuntrue, he said.

Jawad Luddin, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saidMonday that although the Sunday attack was "extremely unfortunate,"it came as no surprise given the repeated threats by revived Talibanforces to attack "people who help Afghanistan" and to disrupt thecountry's reconstruction.

Still, it remained unclear how the Kandahar attackers had knownabout the aid group's low-profile visit to a remote village and howthey had been able to escape given the presence of a large crowd.Sources said they had fired first at the helicopter's engine androtors, indicating they were trained in disabling aircraft.

In the past week, four different alleged Taliban officials havecontacted various news agencies, either asserting credit for pastattacks or threatening new ones. One such spokesman, Mohammed SaifulAdel, told journalists that the group would "stage attacks on anunprecedented scale in the spring," occupying large towns andassaulting U.S. military bases even if that meant suffering largenumbers of casualties.

Adel also said the Taliban enjoyed good relations with localofficials in many areas of the south, that it received financialsupport from al Qaeda and that it had compiled hit lists of Afghan"traitors" who worked with foreign governments.

In the past several months, Islamic extremists have carried out aseries of attacks across southern Afghanistan, mostly targeting aidworkers. Last fall, a French woman working for the U.N. refugeeagency and four Afghan irrigation workers were shot dead in Ghazniprovince. Two weeks ago, four Afghans working for a land-mineclearing project were slain in western Farah province.

Terrorists have also targeted the Berger Group's major project,the repair of the 300-mile highway from Kabul, the capital, toKandahar.

During work between June and December last year, alleged Talibanforces kidnapped or killed a half-dozen Afghans and foreigners whowere working on the road or protecting it.

As a result of the attacks, U.N. and other foreign aid groups havegradually scaled back their projects in the south and now confinemost activities to large cities. Since Sunday's attack on thehelicopter, Berger has also temporarily suspended all projects torebuild schools, clinics and smaller roads in rural areas.

Company officials have issued no detailed statements, but the deadpilot has been identified as Mark Burdorf, 45, of Australia, and theinjured passengers as Suzanne Wheeler, an American working on clinicinspection; Paul Burke, a British security guard; and an Afghanguard.

Burke and Wheeler were flown to the U.S. military hospital atBagram air base, near Kabul, and then to Germany.

The attack led to confusion and finger-pointing between U.S. aidand military officials over the lack of protection for Bergeroperations. Hilferty suggested the company should have coordinatedwith U.S. forces before setting out for a rural area known to harborTaliban forces, but other sources said U.S. military officials hadtaken little interest in protecting Berger projects.

Afghan Attack Follows An Upsurge in Threats; Taliban Role in Question as 12 Are Arrested

The white helicopter was about to take off from a southern Afghanvillage, where its passengers had inspected a health clinic beingrebuilt with American aid. A crowd of villagers had gathered to wavegoodbye when automatic-rifle fire burst from two hiding spots.

The pilot and four passengers -- an American woman, two securityguards and an interpreter -- tried to jump out, but four of the fivewere hit by bullets. The guards, both wounded, returned fire, and onedialed his satellite phone for help. Within minutes a U.S. warplanewas overhead, but the attackers escaped, leaving the pilot dead andtwo passengers seriously wounded.

These harrowing details were provided Monday by sources familiarwith the Sunday morning incident in Kandahar province -- the latestin a series of assaults by armed extremist groups against foreign andAfghan aid workers. The helicopter crew and passengers worked for theLouis Berger Group, a U.S. aid contractor.

An Afghan official in the city of Kandahar, close to where theincident took place, said 12 men had been arrested in connection withthe attack, the Reuters news service reported.

The attack came as spokesmen from the Taliban movement, theIslamic militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan, have stepped upthreats to violently disrupt the country's economic and politicalreconstruction, including voter registration and elections plannedfor June. Two purported Taliban officials asserted responsibility forSunday's assault.

The incident also coincided with reports that Pakistan's militarygovernment was preparing to launch several major search operations inthe semi-autonomous tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan,which Taliban and al Qaeda forces are believed to use as staginggrounds for attacks inside Afghanistan.

In the past week, various unconfirmed press reports have said thata house recently used by Osama bin Laden, the fugitive Saudi leaderof the al Qaeda terrorist network, had been discovered near thePakistani city of Quetta, and that one of bin Laden's top lieutenantshad been sighted in a border area that was now surrounded byPakistani forces.

The top U.S. military spokesman here said Monday he could notconfirm either report. He played down the seriousness of the Talibanthreat, saying that Sunday's attack was the work of a lone gunmanrather than a coordinated effort, and he derided a recent flurry ofTaliban threats as "gibberish" and "hallucinations."

"The so-called Taliban spokesmen are not credible at all. Theytalk in complete gibberish," said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty. He notedthat self-proclaimed Taliban officials had described incidents inwhich 50 U.S. Special Forces troops were "dying in the snow" and 15Italian troops were killed in Khost province. Both accounts wereuntrue, he said.

Jawad Luddin, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saidMonday that although the Sunday attack was "extremely unfortunate,"it came as no surprise given the repeated threats by revived Talibanforces to attack "people who help Afghanistan" and to disrupt thecountry's reconstruction.

Still, it remained unclear how the Kandahar attackers had knownabout the aid group's low-profile visit to a remote village and howthey had been able to escape given the presence of a large crowd.Sources said they had fired first at the helicopter's engine androtors, indicating they were trained in disabling aircraft.

In the past week, four different alleged Taliban officials havecontacted various news agencies, either asserting credit for pastattacks or threatening new ones. One such spokesman, Mohammed SaifulAdel, told journalists that the group would "stage attacks on anunprecedented scale in the spring," occupying large towns andassaulting U.S. military bases even if that meant suffering largenumbers of casualties.

Adel also said the Taliban enjoyed good relations with localofficials in many areas of the south, that it received financialsupport from al Qaeda and that it had compiled hit lists of Afghan"traitors" who worked with foreign governments.

In the past several months, Islamic extremists have carried out aseries of attacks across southern Afghanistan, mostly targeting aidworkers. Last fall, a French woman working for the U.N. refugeeagency and four Afghan irrigation workers were shot dead in Ghazniprovince. Two weeks ago, four Afghans working for a land-mineclearing project were slain in western Farah province.

Terrorists have also targeted the Berger Group's major project,the repair of the 300-mile highway from Kabul, the capital, toKandahar.

During work between June and December last year, alleged Talibanforces kidnapped or killed a half-dozen Afghans and foreigners whowere working on the road or protecting it.

As a result of the attacks, U.N. and other foreign aid groups havegradually scaled back their projects in the south and now confinemost activities to large cities. Since Sunday's attack on thehelicopter, Berger has also temporarily suspended all projects torebuild schools, clinics and smaller roads in rural areas.

Company officials have issued no detailed statements, but the deadpilot has been identified as Mark Burdorf, 45, of Australia, and theinjured passengers as Suzanne Wheeler, an American working on clinicinspection; Paul Burke, a British security guard; and an Afghanguard.

Burke and Wheeler were flown to the U.S. military hospital atBagram air base, near Kabul, and then to Germany.

The attack led to confusion and finger-pointing between U.S. aidand military officials over the lack of protection for Bergeroperations. Hilferty suggested the company should have coordinatedwith U.S. forces before setting out for a rural area known to harborTaliban forces, but other sources said U.S. military officials hadtaken little interest in protecting Berger projects.

Afghan Attack Follows An Upsurge in Threats; Taliban Role in Question as 12 Are Arrested

The white helicopter was about to take off from a southern Afghanvillage, where its passengers had inspected a health clinic beingrebuilt with American aid. A crowd of villagers had gathered to wavegoodbye when automatic-rifle fire burst from two hiding spots.

The pilot and four passengers -- an American woman, two securityguards and an interpreter -- tried to jump out, but four of the fivewere hit by bullets. The guards, both wounded, returned fire, and onedialed his satellite phone for help. Within minutes a U.S. warplanewas overhead, but the attackers escaped, leaving the pilot dead andtwo passengers seriously wounded.

These harrowing details were provided Monday by sources familiarwith the Sunday morning incident in Kandahar province -- the latestin a series of assaults by armed extremist groups against foreign andAfghan aid workers. The helicopter crew and passengers worked for theLouis Berger Group, a U.S. aid contractor.

An Afghan official in the city of Kandahar, close to where theincident took place, said 12 men had been arrested in connection withthe attack, the Reuters news service reported.

The attack came as spokesmen from the Taliban movement, theIslamic militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan, have stepped upthreats to violently disrupt the country's economic and politicalreconstruction, including voter registration and elections plannedfor June. Two purported Taliban officials asserted responsibility forSunday's assault.

The incident also coincided with reports that Pakistan's militarygovernment was preparing to launch several major search operations inthe semi-autonomous tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan,which Taliban and al Qaeda forces are believed to use as staginggrounds for attacks inside Afghanistan.

In the past week, various unconfirmed press reports have said thata house recently used by Osama bin Laden, the fugitive Saudi leaderof the al Qaeda terrorist network, had been discovered near thePakistani city of Quetta, and that one of bin Laden's top lieutenantshad been sighted in a border area that was now surrounded byPakistani forces.

The top U.S. military spokesman here said Monday he could notconfirm either report. He played down the seriousness of the Talibanthreat, saying that Sunday's attack was the work of a lone gunmanrather than a coordinated effort, and he derided a recent flurry ofTaliban threats as "gibberish" and "hallucinations."

"The so-called Taliban spokesmen are not credible at all. Theytalk in complete gibberish," said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty. He notedthat self-proclaimed Taliban officials had described incidents inwhich 50 U.S. Special Forces troops were "dying in the snow" and 15Italian troops were killed in Khost province. Both accounts wereuntrue, he said.

Jawad Luddin, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saidMonday that although the Sunday attack was "extremely unfortunate,"it came as no surprise given the repeated threats by revived Talibanforces to attack "people who help Afghanistan" and to disrupt thecountry's reconstruction.

Still, it remained unclear how the Kandahar attackers had knownabout the aid group's low-profile visit to a remote village and howthey had been able to escape given the presence of a large crowd.Sources said they had fired first at the helicopter's engine androtors, indicating they were trained in disabling aircraft.

In the past week, four different alleged Taliban officials havecontacted various news agencies, either asserting credit for pastattacks or threatening new ones. One such spokesman, Mohammed SaifulAdel, told journalists that the group would "stage attacks on anunprecedented scale in the spring," occupying large towns andassaulting U.S. military bases even if that meant suffering largenumbers of casualties.

Adel also said the Taliban enjoyed good relations with localofficials in many areas of the south, that it received financialsupport from al Qaeda and that it had compiled hit lists of Afghan"traitors" who worked with foreign governments.

In the past several months, Islamic extremists have carried out aseries of attacks across southern Afghanistan, mostly targeting aidworkers. Last fall, a French woman working for the U.N. refugeeagency and four Afghan irrigation workers were shot dead in Ghazniprovince. Two weeks ago, four Afghans working for a land-mineclearing project were slain in western Farah province.

Terrorists have also targeted the Berger Group's major project,the repair of the 300-mile highway from Kabul, the capital, toKandahar.

During work between June and December last year, alleged Talibanforces kidnapped or killed a half-dozen Afghans and foreigners whowere working on the road or protecting it.

As a result of the attacks, U.N. and other foreign aid groups havegradually scaled back their projects in the south and now confinemost activities to large cities. Since Sunday's attack on thehelicopter, Berger has also temporarily suspended all projects torebuild schools, clinics and smaller roads in rural areas.

Company officials have issued no detailed statements, but the deadpilot has been identified as Mark Burdorf, 45, of Australia, and theinjured passengers as Suzanne Wheeler, an American working on clinicinspection; Paul Burke, a British security guard; and an Afghanguard.

Burke and Wheeler were flown to the U.S. military hospital atBagram air base, near Kabul, and then to Germany.

The attack led to confusion and finger-pointing between U.S. aidand military officials over the lack of protection for Bergeroperations. Hilferty suggested the company should have coordinatedwith U.S. forces before setting out for a rural area known to harborTaliban forces, but other sources said U.S. military officials hadtaken little interest in protecting Berger projects.