Attacks on Afghan police challenge security environment

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Two separate attacks were launched Monday against Afghanistan police, a day after a suicide bombing struck police headquarters in Kabul.

As U.S. and foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan, local forces are increasingly responsible for the security of the country. Taliban violence has risen as a result.

Around 7:30 a.m. Monday, a bomb hidden in a bicycle rickshaw exploded near a police truck in Jalalabad, killing three Nangarhar Province police academy teachers and wounding a fourth person.

At 10 a.m., seven police officers and a civilian in Logar Province were killed when a suicide bomber disguised as a Afghan police officer detonated an explosive vest in front of the provincial police headquarters in Pul-i-Alam. The dead included police commander Sabz Ali, who was described by the Logar governor's spokesman as "an influential and popular figure among the police in Logar Province." According to Din Mohammad Darwesh, Ali's "prominence against the insurgents and insurgencies caused his death."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Sunday's and Monday's bombings.

An estimated 6,000 out of 9,000 Afghan National Security Force deaths in 2013 were from Taliban attacks.

The total loss of life is "not sustainable in the long term," said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, commander of the International Security Assistance Joint Force Command, last week from Kabul during a video conference with reporters at the Pentagon.

"Their first priority right now is to get their recruiting back up," Anderson said, citing the fact that Afghanistan's police and army forces have filled only 89 and 81 percent of their slots respectively.

He also identified areas for improvement in the fields of counter-IED tactics, medevac procedures and medical treatment.

Despite the high morbidity rate, vacancies, and need for improved procedures, Anderson expressed confidence in the ANSF.

"The Afghan National Security Forces are winning. And this is a hugely capable fighting force who have been holding their ground against the enemy."

President Barack Obama has announced that America's military presence in Afghanistan will be reduced to about 9,800 troops by the end of 2014, with full military withdrawal expected beyond 2016.