Kabul: Afghan police said Saturday they had
seized a major cache of nearly 300 rockets hidden on the
outskirts of Kabul, which could have been used to attack the
capital.
The find included 278 122mm rockets with a range of 20
kilometres and 15 rockets with a range of 30 kilometres, city
police chief Abdul Rehman Rehman told reporters.
The discovery followed reports that Taliban insurgents
were planning attacks on Kabul during a May 29 conference of
more than 1,000 community and political representatives,
Rehman said.
"We had reports that Kabul might be under threat from
the northeast and northwest sides of the city," he said.
The rockets were surplus from the Soviet deployment
of Afghanistan in the 1980s, he said, adding that intelligence
reports pointed to the involvement of foreign agencies in
funding the movement of the weapons.
Afghan officials accuse elements in Pakistan of
supporting the insurgency in Afghanistan to exert influence in
the country and balance rival India's power.
Pakistan rejects the accusations.
Kabul was bombarded by rockets during the 1992-1996
civil war. The conflict resulted in the deaths of an estimated
80,000 civilians.
Kabul regularly comes under mortar fire, but an
attack with 122mm rockets could have a devastating impact,
causing high casualties and presenting a formidable security
challenge to Afghan and international security forces.
No arrests had been made in relation to the cache
find, Rehman said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 18:32