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Viewing cable 06KABUL442, TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SCHOOLS SHOW SPIKE IN JANUARY

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06KABUL442 2006-02-01 10:47 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Kabul
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS KABUL 000442 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID 
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR PTER EAID AF
SUBJECT: TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SCHOOLS SHOW SPIKE IN JANUARY 
2006 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Four schools (two of which were USAID 
projects) were attacked and burned January 28 in Helmand and 
Kandahar provinces.  The perpetrators are believed to be 
Taleban sympathizers or other anti-government groups.  In the 
month of January alone, there were 11 attacks on schools in 
southern Afghanistan; 50 schools were targeted in all of 
2005.  In addition to destroying school buildings, tactics 
have included killing of educators and intimidation of 
pupils.  Some schools have closed in areas where threats were 
made.  This increase in attacks on "soft" targets could be a 
sign of evolving Taleban tactics, as well as the success of 
U.S. and other international donors' efforts in the education 
field.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Total attacks on schools in southern Afghanistan 
numbered 11 in January 2006, according to military sources. 
The most recent incidents confirmed by military, USAID and 
MOI sources, were three (two USAID funded) school burnings in 
the Nawa district, and a fourth in the Gereshk district of 
Helmand province. Other recent attacks took place in Kandahar 
and Farah provinces.  The MOI and U.S. military attribute 
these attacks to the Taleban or other anti-government groups, 
some operating from Pakistan.  In addition to the attacks on 
the school buildings, a teacher was beheaded January 3 in 
Zabol province.  In December 2005 a teacher was shot in front 
of his students. 
 
3. (SBU) The Taleban and other armed groups carrying out 
these attacks periodically send warning letters or hang 
posters in provincial towns and villages warning against the 
teaching of girls, threatening teachers or notifying 
communities that attacks on schools will take place.  Taleban 
insurgents in the south have regularly targeted schools or 
attacked teachers, but there appears to be a marked increase 
in the past month.  Although the Taleban often rants against 
female education, boys' schools have been destroyed as well, 
demonstrating that the insurgents are targeting the education 
system in general.  This intimidation campaign caused three 
schools to close in Kandahar in November 2005, when three 
warning letters were issued, though only one was ultimately 
attacked. 
 
4. (SBU) As USAID funding continues to support education, and 
school construction moves to more isolated villages where the 
need for literacy and education is greatest, the security 
risk increases.  USAID funding has brought schooling to over 
3,600 communities, and schools in remote villages lie outside 
of police and military security networks which tend to be 
based in urban centers.  Education is very popular according 
to several surveys taken in Afghanistan.  The number of 
children in schools has risen from 900,000 to 5 million since 
2001, with 280,000 in U.S.-run schools.  The Afghan 
Independent Human Rights Commission as well as newspaper 
editorials have condemned the targeting of schools and 
teachers. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment.  The January increase in attacks on schools 
in southern Afghanistan indicate that the Taleban and other 
armed groups are continuing their campaign against education 
as an insurgency tactic.  The Taleban has historically 
opposed the teaching of girls, but recent attacks have 
targeted boys' schools as well, which matches the trend 
towards attacking soft targets, outside the U.S. military 
security umbrella.  Many education professionals in 
Afghanistan believe that literacy and female education pose a 
specific threat to the Taleban and the most radical 
anti-modern elements.  The international community's 
successes in the education field also make schools an obvious 
target.  Efforts by militants to undermine the educational 
system directly counteract US efforts in southern 
Afghanistan, where the need is greatest, as many of the 
schools in these provinces were built by USAID and continue 
to receive funding.  Education is one of the key elements of 
U.S. development efforts and by closing schools, terrorists 
are striking against one of the most visible and worthwhile 
symbols of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.  There are 
indications as well that the tactic of hitting soft targets 
is resulting in a public backlash against the perpetrators. 
NORLAND