Afghanistan: Attack on university shows possible new influence within Taliban

Sixteen people were killed and 53 injured in an almost 10 hour-long attack on the American University in Kabul (AUAF), as reported by the Mail Online on 25 August 2016. The well-coordinated operation involved a suicide car bomb and assailants armed with small arms and hand grenades. The attackers went into classrooms where students were trying to barricade or hide themselves and shot them at random. Although no group claimed responsibility, the raid came after Taliban circles had been referring to the elite private university in internet discussion groups as a "centre of hostile "˜Western" efforts", according to a commentary on Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) on 5 September 2016. AAN thinks a new and impatient group could be emerging within Taliban who know how to use social media for propaganda purposes and who see the main enemy as being the "˜cultural invasion" coming from Western countries. David Davidson, working at World Watch Research, comments: "It would appear that the attackers wanted to put an end to the AUAF"s activities and influence in the country. The experts at AAN point out that recent Islamist literature in circulation among (internet) discussion groups depicts the institution as being an influential US center for preventing the emergence of an Islamic government in Afghanistan. One book being circulated was published in 2013 with the title "˜Kabul"s Christian University" and describes the AUAF as a "˜missionary" institution "˜inspired by Protestantism" and as a center for US intelligence providing "˜a pool of advisors and consultants for the CIA". Such publications could well have provoked the attack. If there really is a new aggressive branch emerging within Taliban, Christians in the country (both foreign workers and believers with a Muslim background) may now be more under threat of attack than ever."