"Our Man" In Kandahar Has Been Killed, But Who Was He?

Last Thursday, General Abdul Raziq was killed. He had ruled the southern Afghan province of Kandahar for years, but who was he?

In fact, Raziq was the most important ally of the United States in Afghanistan's south. Just a few years after the "War on Terror" started, he became a big deal. 

As a local police chief, he built his loyal force, stopped disputes between tribes and successfully battled against the Taliban. 

However, this is just one side of the story.

Raziq was a brutal strongman. According to HRW and the UN, he personally tortured and killed many people. His crimes have also been investigated by journalists. 

In 2014, American journalist Anand Gopal made an extraordinary investigation and found out that in October 2013 alone, more than 40 corpses were found in the Kandahar region. All of them were victims of Raziq's police force. 

HRW called Raziq "Kandahar's torturer-in-chief".

The piece by Latifi also points at these issues. 

"The most notorious case against Raziq dates back to March 2006 when he was implicated in the murders of more than a dozen people. Raziq was accused of orchestrating the drugging of 16 people at a party in Kabul before having them abducted and brought to Spin Boldak district of Kandahar, where he reportedly took part in the shootings that killed them."

Raziq was killed during an important meeting with General Scott Miller, the leading US and NATO commander in Afghanistan. Miller survived unharmed. Kandahar's governor was injured badly while the local Afghan intelligence chief was killed too.

Thus, the Taliban just wiped out the leadership of one of the most important provinces in a single day.