Incident Summary:

10/12/2015: Assailants attacked an Afghan Border Police (ABP) checkpoint in Naw Zad district, Helmand province, Afghanistan. This was one of two coordinated attacks on checkpoints in Naw Zad on this date. At least 21 border police officers and 35 assailants were killed in the ensuing clashes that lasted until October 14, 2015. Additionally, eight officers were taken hostage and killed at an unspecified time. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks.

GTD ID:
201510140012

When:
2015-10-12

Country:
Afghanistan

Region:
South Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Helmand

City:
Naw Zad district

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Kidnapping)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Police
Name of Entity Afghan Border Police (ABP)
Specific Description Checkpoint
Nationality of Target Afghanistan
Additional Information
Hostages Yes
Number of Hostages 4
US Hostages 0
Outcome Hostage(s) killed (not during rescue attempt)
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Unknown
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Casualty numbers for this attack represent a division of the cumulative total of hostages across incidents 201510140011 and 201510140012. Casualty numbers for this incident conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the majority reliable estimates are reported here.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Taliban Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 32 Fatalities
Total Number of Fatalities 32
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 18
Total Number of Injured Unknown
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured Unknown
Sources
"Afghan official: Taliban overruns checkpoints, kills 29 border police near Kandahar," 570News, October 14, 2015.
"OSC Media Highlights on Afghanistan 14 October 2015," OSC Summary, October 14, 2015.
"Highlights: Pakistan Evening TV News Bulletins 14 October 2015," OSC Summary, October 14, 2015.