Update for Sunday, April 25, 2015

Today in Afghanistan Friend Chet directs our attention to a report of 3 U.S. soldiers seriously injured by an explosion in spite of their being in an MRAP:

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, April 22, 2015 – A team of airmen assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron here traveled to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan,Sunday to provide in-flight medical care to three servicemembers.
The U.S. Army soldiers sustained multiple injuries after their mine resistant ambush protected vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. . . .

Because the three service members Sunday experienced brain injuries, “there’s a potential of swelling which could cause life-threatening medical emergencies. So our primary responsibility was to monitor their neuro status in relation to the stress of the flight, as well as monitor their pain and give them scheduled medications.”

CenCom doesn’t usually report non-fatal injuries. The point of this article was to brag about the Air Force medical service. But this reminds us that yes, Afghanistan is still dangerous for U.S. forces and this is undoubtedly not the only significant wounding event this year.

Of course it’s a lot worse for Afghans. Today a mortar attack hit a house and killed 5 members of a family and wounded 11 in Laghman province. Ten people were kidnapped on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway by persons unknown. An explosion in Kandahar kills 2 people.

And so, with growing insecurity, MPs are calling for revocation of the bilateral security agreement:

Following unprecedented rise in insecurity countrywide, particularly in northern provinces, a number of lawmakers on Saturday urged the government to revoke the bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the United States, as according to them, security situation has deteriorated after inking of the security deal with Washington.

They said that the northern provinces will fall into hands of militants if the government was reluctant and did not take proper security measures in the areas. “Security situation is worsening countywide, especially in Badakhshan,” said Abdul Latif Pidram, an MP from northeastern Badakhshan province. He nudged the government to cancel the BSA because the security pact could not bring security to the country and the people. “Violence and terror attacks increased and our people became more insecure after signing of the security deal with the US,” he said.

They don’t say what they would replace it with. 

Today in Afghanistan