Afghan pilots assassinated by Taliban as U.S. withdraws

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

KABUL, (Reuters) - Afghan Air Force Major Dastagir Zamaray had grown so fearful of Taliban assassinations of off-duty forces in Kabul that he decided to sell his home to move to a safer pocket of Afghanistan's sprawling capital.

Instead of being greeted by a prospective buyer at his realtor's office earlier this year, the 41-year-old pilot was confronted by a gunman who walked inside and, without a word, fatally shot the real estate agent in the mouth.

Zamaray reached for his sidearm but the gunman shot him in the head. The father of seven collapsed dead on his 14-year-old son, who had tagged along. The boy was spared, but barely speaks anymore, his family says.

Zamaray “only went there because he personally knew the realtor and thought it was safe," Samiullah Darman, his brother-in-law, told Reuters. "We didn’t know that he would never come back."

At least seven Afghan pilots, including Zamaray, have been assassinated off base in recent months, according to two senior Afghan government officials. This series of targeted killings, which haven't been previously reported, illustrate what U.S. and Afghan officials believe is a deliberate Taliban effort to destroy one of Afghanistan's most valuable military assets: its corps of U.S.- and NATO-trained military pilots.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/special-report-afghan-pilots-assassinated-by-taliban-as-us-withdraws/ar-AALXE9t

[mitch96]

1. We have to get our Afgan Allies OUT OF THERE NOW!!! hello Guam...nt

[samsingh]

2. this is horrifying. Why would anyone trust the US in the future?

[TheRealNorth]

3. Its sad....

But unfortunately it seems the Taliban has more support than the national government. How else, after 20 years, have they been unable to recruit an army capable of defending itself. They seem even less competent then the South Vietnamese Army.

Maybe we would have had a chance if we had engaged on nation building back in 2002 instead of going off and invading Iraq. But now we are.in a costly quagmire like the British and Soviets before us.