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5 Afghan Officers Killed Battling Poppy Production Contractor and 2 Afghan Soldiers Are Killed on a U.S. Base
(about 7 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Five Afghan police officers were killed by homemade bombs while carrying out a poppy-eradication campaign in western Farah Province, officials said Friday, as the government struggles to stem cultivation in a corner of the country where it is on the rise. KABUL, Afghanistan — A civilian contractor and two Afghan soldiers were killed on an American base Friday afternoon when three men wearing Afghan National Army uniforms stormed the gate and began firing, military officials said, in what appeared to be the second insider attack on Western troops this year.
Three of the officers died when an improvised explosive device, or I.E.D., buried in the fields exploded Tuesday during the first day of a three-day mission in the Khak-e-Saped district. Another two died on Thursday, after a separate explosive planted by the Taliban detonated. In an ensuing firefight with insurgents, nine officers were wounded and four Taliban were killed, officials said. The shooting, at Forward Operating Base Tagab in the northern province of Kapisa, also wounded four coalition troops, two of them seriously, before the attackers were gunned down, officials said. Officials were unsure about whether the attackers were Afghan soldiers or impostors.
“The Taliban are protecting the poppy by planting I.E.D.’s, and the farmers are supporting them,” said Abdul Rahman Zowandai, a spokesman for the provincial governor. A sharp rise last year in insider attacks, in which Afghan security forces turn their guns on their Western allies, greatly strained relations and threatened the military and police training mission at the heart of the coalition’s plans to withdraw in 2014. Extensive new safeguards were put in place, including stricter security guidelines for American troops and tougher vetting of recruits by the Afghan forces.
The symbiotic relationship between the insurgents and poppy farmers boils down to money. Farmers can make far more cash growing poppies than almost any other crop, while insurgents impose lucrative taxes on poppy production, generating an estimated $155 million for the Taliban last year. The attack on Friday, however, served as a reminder of how difficult such violence is to prevent. The attack began around 1:30 p.m., when the three uniformed men slammed an Afghan Army vehicle into the main gate of the coalition base, officials said. A firefight then broke out, resulting in the deaths of the attackers, two Afghan soldiers and the civilian contractor, whose nationality was not immediately announced.
Eradication is controversial in the aid community. Many organizations see the destruction of crops without financial compensation as flawed policy. The reason for the assault was not clear, and the Taliban did not claim responsibility for it, which they are usually quick to do.
“Opium eradication is never the solution,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, the chief of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Afghanistan. “It’s a blunt instrument, and if it is not connected to altered livelihoods it proves not sustainable and often times arbitrary.” Such attacks are often the product of Taliban infiltrators who have gone through the military recruitment and training process. But cultural clashes, in which Afghan soldiers have responded violently to perceived mistreatment or slights by their American counterparts, have also been a factor.
The eradication program is also dangerous. Last year, 102 Afghan police officers, soldiers and civilians were killed in attacks and another 127 were injured. Kapisa Province has been difficult to secure, and fighting in the Tagab district, where the American outpost is situated, has been especially fierce. The district has also been the scene of past insider attacks. In early 2012, four French soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier while on patrol there, prompting threats from France to withdraw from Afghanistan sooner than promised. The last French troops left Afghanistan in December.
The government’s efforts to combat cultivation have been mixed, partly because areas where production is flourishing tend to be less secure. Corruption also stymies efforts to crack down, as the profits from trafficking help finance political patronage networks. The government also noted on Friday that five Afghan police officers had been killed this week while carrying out a poppy eradication campaign in western Farah Province.
While cultivation has dropped nationwide since its 2007 peak, between 2011 and 2012, it grew by 18 percent, fueled by mix of high opium prices and growing instability in parts of the country. Three of the officers died when an improvised explosive device buried in the fields exploded on Tuesday, during the first day of a three-day mission in the Khak-e-Saped district. The other two died on Thursday, after a separate explosive planted by the Taliban detonated. In an ensuing firefight with insurgents, nine officers were wounded, and four Taliban fighters were killed, officials said.
Farah, a province that borders Iran, is one of six provinces where the United Nations expects to see an increase in poppy cultivation. Farmers there cultivate more poppy than anywhere else in the country except for the hotbeds of Helmand and Kandahar. The lure of profit from poppy cultivation has brought insurgents and poppy farmers together in many cases, finding common cause against haphazard government efforts to eradicate crops. Farmers can make far more cash growing poppies than almost any other crop, while insurgents impose lucrative taxes on poppy production, generating an estimated $155 million for the Taliban last year.
One challenge the government faces is how to give farmers incentives to grow legal crops. Opium is far more lucrative. In Helmand, the government conducted a two-pronged strategy of eradication and assistance, handing farmers high-quality seeds to replace their opium. Eradication is controversial among aid groups. Many organizations see the destruction of crops without financial compensation as flawed policy.
In Khak-e-Saped district of Farah, however, elders say no such assistance has been offered. “Opium eradication is never the solution,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, the chief of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Afghanistan. “It’s a blunt instrument, and if it is not connected to altered livelihoods, it proves not sustainable and oftentimes arbitrary.”
“They have not come up with an agenda to work on an alternative,” said Haji-Abdul Matin, a tribal elder. “We don’t have electricity to provide free water, and we don’t have good markets for legal crops.”

Azam Ahmed reported from Kabul, and Taimoor Shah from Kandahar. Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting from Kabul.

“The only thing left is poppy for people,” he added.

Azam Ahmed reported from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Taimoor Shah from Kandahar. Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting from Kabul.