Security Situation
In September 2006, Governor Hakim Taniwal was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber as he left his office in Gardez. At the time, Taniwal was the highest-ranking post-Taliban official to be killed by insurgent forces in the country.
Paktia is one of the most politically complicated provinces in the country. Militia commanders are a strong presence in the province, and their shifting allegiances and violent tendencies make governance of the region problematic. The province also has the difficult mountainous and cavernous terrain typical of the Hindu Kush range, providing armed groups ample cover from which to conduct guerilla operations.
Immediately after the fall of the Taliban, Paktia was one of the most chaotic regions in the country, as a small civil war broke out between rival militia commanders for control of the province, and Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters gave occupying U.S. troops some of their heaviest losses in the cave complexes south of Gardez.
The security situation in Paktia has improved significantly in recent years, though isolated fighting by Taliban militants and persistent tribal conflicts in the eastern part of the province continue to challenge the government. The provincial capital, Gardez, is among the most secure in the southeastern part of the country, owing in part to a large presence by coalition and Afghan security forces.
Parts of Paktia are also believed to be a safe haven for militants from the Haqqani network, an anti-government combat organisation involved in the Taliban insurgency.
On February 12, 2010, five civilians including two pregnant women and a teenage girl were killed during a botched night raid by U.S. special forces who were later accused of attempting to cover up the incident, though the investigation was inconclusive due to lack of evidence.
Read more about this topic: Paktia Province
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