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44-540: On 16 May 2020 , the Taliban abducted 12 civilians in Tsamkani District, charging them for "collaborating with the government". Like in the rest of Afghanistan, no exact population numbers are available. The Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development (MRRD) along with UNHCR and Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Afghanistan estimated the population of the district to be around 58,560 (CSO 2004). According to

88-400: A midwife , and 16 mothers, who were either pregnant giving birth or were with their newborns. Three of the mothers were shot and killed in the delivery room along with their unborn babies . A witness later said that the killers "deliberately, and methodically, killed mothers and pregnant women, in their beds, one after the other." The gunmen had walked straight past other wards closer to

132-523: A strafing run or area bombing . The importance of precision targeting cannot be overstated: by some statistics, over a hundred raids were necessary to destroy a point target in World War 2; by the Persian Gulf War , the U.S. Air Force was able to release to media precise footage of television- or radar-guided bombs directly hitting the target without significant collateral damage (using, for example,

176-533: A transmission tower destroyed by gunmen earlier. Two of the four were in critical condition. On the same day, a policewoman was killed in the center of Kandahar , making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for killing her. On 7 May, a roadside bombing in Nadir Shah Kot District , Khost Province killed Gen. Sayed Ahmad Babazai,

220-572: A diplomatic solution." On 1 May, the Taliban attacked Balkh Province 's Zari District overnight, killing 13 members of the Afghan security forces and injuring 17 others. On 2 May, a motorcycle bomb exploded outside the provincial prison in Mihtarlam , Laghman Province , killing three civilians and injuring four members of the security forces. Noor Mohammad, director of Laghman's provincial prison directorate,

264-442: A larger, more general attack such as carpet bombing . Weapons used in an airstrike can range from direct-fire aircraft-mounted cannons and machine guns , rockets and air-to-surface missiles , to various types of aerial bombs , glide bombs , cruise missiles , ballistic missiles , and even directed-energy weapons such as laser weapons . In close air support , air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers on

308-567: A maternity hospital and a funeral, must awaken the world to the horrors civilians continue to face". Human Rights Watch also demanded to bring the perpetrators to justice for this "war crime". On 14 May, the Taliban carried out a retaliation attack near a court in Gardez , Paktia Province : a suicide truck bomber tried to explode himself outside a military compound, but exploded before its destination. The attack resulted in five civilians killed and at least 29 others injured. The Taliban claimed this as

352-417: A member of Nangarhar's provincial council, was killed in the attack, while his father, Malik Qais Noor Agha, a lawmaker, was wounded. The Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the attacks on 12 May, and immediately ordered the military to resume its offensives against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Amrullah Saleh , then Vice President of Afghanistan , spoke of evidence that the Taliban plotted

396-553: A revenge attack, after President Ashraf Ghani blamed the group for the attack at the maternity hospital; the Taliban denied responsibility for the hospital attack. On the same day, the Taliban also attacked a checkpoint in Firozkoh (also known as Chaghcharan), Ghor Province , killing three soldiers and taking 11 others captive. On 16 May, in an overnight attack on a security checkpoint in Paktia Province's Ahmad Aba District ,

440-689: A series of insurgent attacks took place in Afghanistan , starting when the Taliban killed 20 Afghan soldiers and wounded 29 others in Zari , Balkh and Grishk , Helmand on 1 and 3 May, respectively. On 12 May, a hospital's maternity ward in Kabul and a funeral in Kuz Kunar (Khewa), Nangarhar were attacked, resulting in the deaths of 56 people and injuries of 148 others, including newborn babies, mothers, nurses, and mourners. ISIL–KP claimed responsibility for

484-475: A statement condemning the 12 May attacks and calling them "barbaric". It added that "Such reprehensible attacks, including on mothers, newly born children, nurses and mourning families are appalling and constitute crimes against humanity." and urged for the responsible to be brought to swift justice. Human rights group Amnesty International tweeted "The unconscionable war crimes in Afghanistan today, targeting

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528-528: A statement reaffirming "that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security." The council also emphasized that the "heinous and cowardly terrorist attacks" took place during Ramadan and that ISIL–KP had claimed responsibility for the blast in Nangarhar. The chief of the World Health Organization , Tedros Adhanom , said he

572-426: Is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft . Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps , balloons , fighter aircraft , attack aircraft , bombers , attack helicopters , and drones . The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, but in popular usage the term is usually narrowed to a tactical (small-scale) attack on a ground or naval objective as opposed to

616-711: Is to destroy the peace agreement that was signed in Doha on February 29, 2020." Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL–KP) claimed responsibility for the Kuz Kunar funeral bombing in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. However, no armed group claimed responsibility for the Kabul hospital shooting. On 15 May, the United States said that it had assessed that ISIL–KP

660-410: Is unforgivable, but to attack infants and women in labor in the sanctuary of a hospital is an act of sheer evil.” UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter that he was "horrified by the appalling terrorist attacks in Afghanistan today - including on a maternity hospital. Targeting mothers, their newborns and medical staff is despicable." The External Affairs Ministry of India released

704-668: The F-4U Corsair and North American P-51 Mustang fighters that fought during the Korean War, albeit at the cost of the R&;D of the aircraft itself, the weapons, and, most important to the man on the ground, fuel and loiter time, though this situation was slightly alleviated with the introduction of aircraft like the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly , LTV A-7 Corsair II , and Lockheed AC-130 gunships. Today, airstrike terminology has extended to

748-529: The LANTIRN pod). Paul Fussell noted in his seminal work The Great War and Modern Memory the popular 20th century tendency to assume an errant bomb hitting a church, for example, was completely deliberate and reflective of the inherent evil of the enemy; over time, expectations for reduced collateral damage have increased to the point that developed countries engaging in war against less technologically advanced countries approach near-zero in terms of such damage. In

792-589: The Malayan Emergency of the 1950s, British and Commonwealth Avro Lincoln heavy bombers, de Havilland Vampire fighter jets, Supermarine Spitfires , Bristol Brigands , de Havilland Mosquitos , and a host of other British aircraft were used in Malaya in operations against guerillas. However, the humid climate played havoc with the Mosquito's wooden airframe, and they were soon deployed elsewhere. This period also marked

836-604: The Khost Public Health commissioner and three doctors. All the injured were carried to Khost Civil Hospital for emergency treatment. On 17 May, the Taliban attacked a checkpoint near the Mes Aynak mine , the country's largest copper mine , in Mohammad Agha District , Logar Province , southeast of Kabul. Eight security guards were killed and five others wounded. On 18 May, a suicide Humvee bomber affiliated with

880-609: The Police Chief of Khost Province, his secretary, and a bodyguard, and also wounded another person. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Just before the two 12 May attacks, there was a devastating attack in the night of 10 May, during which the Taliban attacked a convoy and security post in Alishing District , Laghman Province , northeast of Kabul. 27 Afghan soldiers were killed and several military vehicles were destroyed, while nine soldiers remained missing after

924-452: The Taliban killed eight soldiers and wounded nine others. The soldiers had been providing security for a multi-purpose dam. In addition, the Taliban also abducted 12 civilians in the province's Tsamkani District , charging them for "collaborating with the government". Also on 16 May, a roadside bomb targeting healthcare workers in Khost exploded, injuring six civilians, including the assistant to

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968-784: The Taliban killed nine intelligence personnel and injured 40 others at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) unit in Ghazni , Afghanistan, also damaging the nearby Islamic Cultural Centre. On the same day in Jaghatū District , Ghazni Province , insurgents killed two police officers and three civilians on a road and set their bodies on fire. Late on 18 May, a roadside IED planted by militants in Mezana District , Zabul Province killed four civilians and injured nine others. Airstrike An airstrike , air strike , or air raid

1012-447: The Taliban office in Qatar , claimed: "The Taliban could not even think of attacking a maternity hospital and funeral prayers." Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Aryan described the Kabul hospital attack as an "act against humanity and a war crime." The United Nations Secretary General , António Guterres , strongly condemned the 12 May attacks. While the 15-member Security Council issued

1056-467: The Taliban threw a hand grenade into a mosque in Khairkot District , Paktika Province , injuring 20 worshippers who were offering the night prayer after having broken their Ramadan fast. On 4 May, four employees of the state-owned power company , Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), were wounded in a bomb explosion in northern Kabul when they were returning to Kabul after repairing

1100-428: The Taliban, but this assertion was rejected by Afghan officials. The Taliban announced that it would conduct revenge attacks against the Afghan government for blaming it for the 12 May attacks, and conducted suicide bombings in Gardez and Ghazni , which killed nine intelligence personnel and five civilians , and wounded 69 others. The Taliban then attempted to capture Kunduz , attacking several government posts in

1144-465: The agreement they signed.” The Taliban, however, denied responsibility for the 12 May attacks. Suhail Shaheen , spokesman of the Taliban office in Qatar , claimed: "These are extreme barbaric acts and only ISIS terrorists could show such brutality. Unfortunately, such elements are working under the cover of Afghan intelligence agencies and are carrying out false flag operations. The sole aim of such attacks

1188-451: The attack. At 10 AM on 12 May 2020, three gunmen wearing police uniforms carried out a mass shooting in the maternity ward of Atatürk Children's Hospital in Kabul. The hospital is located in the predominately Shi'ite Hazara neighborhood of Dashte Barchi and was assisted by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) personnel. The attackers killed 24 people and injured another 16. The deaths included two small children,

1232-533: The attacks and that the Taliban were in "celebratory mood" after the attacks. Saleh added: "They double celebrate the naivete of some for accepting their lies and accusing the fictional IS-K." The acting interior minister , Masoud Andarabi, said: “This indicates close cooperation between the Haqqani network and the Daesh group [ISIL], and also the attack is a war crime . This shows that the Taliban do not have any commitment to

1276-485: The city during which eight soldiers, four civilians, and a policeman were killed, and 73 others were injured. The Taliban attack on Kunduz was repelled by the Afghan security forces . On 29 February 2020, the U.S. signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in Qatar , which set the conditions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. However, despite the agreement, attacks against Afghan security forces surged in

1320-439: The concept of the strike aircraft , what earlier generations of military aviators referred to as light bombers or attack aircraft . With the near-complete air supremacy enjoyed by developed nations in undeveloped regions, fighter jets can often be modified to add strike capability in a manner less practicable in earlier generations. Airstrikes can be carried out for strategic purposes outside of general warfare. Operation Opera

1364-403: The country. In the 45 days after the agreement (between 1 March and 15 April), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, which showed an increase of more than 70% as compared to the same period in the previous year. More than 900 Afghan security forces were killed in the period, up from about 520 in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, because of a significant reduction in

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1408-403: The day after the attack and what I saw in the maternity (ward) demonstrates it was a systematic shooting of the mothers. They went through the rooms in the maternity (ward), shooting women in their beds. It was methodical. Walls sprayed with bullets, blood on the floors in the rooms, vehicles burnt out and windows shot through." Bonnot added: "It’s shocking. We know this area has suffered attacks in

1452-419: The funeral bombing, but no insurgent group claimed responsibility for the hospital shooting. The Afghan government blamed the Taliban as the main perpetrators behind the 12 May attacks, and immediately ordered the military to resume its offensives against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The Taliban, however, denied involvement. The U.S. government said that ISIL–KP conducted the 12 May attacks, not

1496-425: The ground for coordination with ground troops and intelligence in a manner derived from artillery tactics. The first large scale air raid occurred during World War I in 1915, when London was bombed by 15 German Zeppelin dirigibles at night. Since the residents of London, and many of its defenders, were asleep, a loud warning system for air raids made sense, leading to the creation of the air raid siren . It

1540-462: The hospital's entrance, and attacked only the maternity ward. More than 80 women, infants, and staff, including three foreign nationals, were safely evacuated from the hospital, and all of the attackers were killed by the Afghan security forces and their mentoring Norwegian special forces . According to Frederic Bonnot, Médecins Sans Frontières ' head of programs in Afghanistan: "I went back

1584-545: The last combat deployment of British Spitfires. During the Vietnam War, airstrikes and their doctrine were adjusted to fit the jets, like the North American F-100 Super Sabre , Republic F-105 Thunderchief , Douglas A-4 Skyhawk , and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , which were entering the U.S.A.F. and U.S.N. inventory. These aircraft could fly faster, carry more ordnance, and defend themselves better than

1628-437: The number of offensives and airstrikes by Afghan and U.S. forces against the Taliban due to the agreement, Taliban casualties dropped to 610 in the period down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier. The Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said that although the Taliban stopped conducting attacks against the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, the violence was still "unacceptably high" and "not conducive to

1672-525: The past, but no one could believe they would attack a maternity. They came to kill the mothers." About an hour after the Kabul attack, a suicide bombing took place in Kuz Kunar District (also known as Khewa District), Nangarhar Province at the funeral of Shaikh Akram, a former commander of the district's police force, who had died of a heart attack a day earlier. The blast killed 32 people and injured 133 others, some severely. Abdullah Malikzai,

1716-500: The same sources, Pashtuns make up 100% of the total population. This Paktia Province , Afghanistan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . May 2020 Afghanistan attacks Timeline Major operations Airstrikes Major insurgent attacks 2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Massacres Other In May 2020,

1760-536: Was "shocked and appalled" by the Kabul attack and said that hospitals "should never be a target." Deborah Lyons , head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan , denounced the hospital attack, saying: “Who attacks newborn babies and new mothers? Who does this? The most innocent of innocents, a baby! Why?” United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the "horrific terrorist attacks" and said that “any attack on innocents

1804-622: Was a single eight-ship Israeli airstrike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor , criticized by world opinion but not leading to a general outbreak of war. Such an example of the preventive strike has created new questions for international law. Airstrikes, including airstrikes by drones, were extensively used during the Gulf War , War on Terror , War in Afghanistan , Iraq War , First Libyan Civil War , Syrian Civil War , Iraqi Civil War , Yemeni Civil War , 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and

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1848-469: Was among the injured. On 3 May, seven Afghan security forces were killed and at least 12 others wounded in a suicide truck bomb attack on a military and intelligence base in Grishk District , Helmand Province . A Mazda mini truck was exploded in front of the gate by the suicide attacker, partially damaging the base. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In a separate attack on 3 May,

1892-519: Was not until World War II that the Oxford English Dictionary first records usage of the term "air strike", which remained two separate words for some time thereafter. The Second World War also saw the first development of precision-guided munitions , which were fielded successfully by the Germans, and contributed to the modern sense of air "strike", a precision targeted attack as opposed to

1936-490: Was responsible for the 12 May attacks, rather than the Taliban. However, Afghan officials rejected this assertion, and reiterated that the Taliban and the affiliated Haqqani network were behind the attacks. The Taliban, however, claimed responsibility for more than a dozen other deadly attacks in Afghanistan in May 2020. The Taliban denied responsibility for the 12 May attacks and called them "heinous". Suhail Shaheen , spokesman of

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