Taliban insurgency
In October, the Taliban announced that it was deploying its "martyrdom brigade" along the border with Tajikistan. He says the new suicide bomber brigade is intended to "confer legitimacy on the Taliban leadership as it attempts to turn itself into a semblance of a government with regular troops under its command and not just covert agents of violence."Įdwards also noted that the Taliban's would-be suicide bombers were "members of elite cadres who parade in regimental order wearing colorful uniforms that showcase the different types of suicide bomber and their function." "The current Taliban leadership seeks to retroactively take ownership of suicide bombing in all its forms and to give it a new meaning that will help it transform a decentralized insurgency into a unified government," says David Edwards, a professor of anthropology at Williams College. The militants also announced the formation of a new "martyrdom brigade" made up of suicide bombers, in a move that experts say is an attempt to rebrand its suicide bombers as elite fighters ready to protect the new government. The parade triggered outrage among many Afghans who said Taliban suicide attacks had killed hundreds of civilians over the years. In a victory parade after retaking power, the Taliban displayed its suicide bombers and arsenal of explosives-laden suicide vests. During its 20-year insurgency, the Taliban employed suicide bombers as a lethal tool to kill foreign and Afghan government troops and terrorize the civilian population.Įven now, as the Taliban attempts to transform from an insurgency into a government, its contingent of trained suicide bombers remains central to its military and political strategy, experts say.