“The actions taken by the EI security staff in defense of the compound and project staff were nothing short of heroic,” said DAI President and CEO James Boomgard. “We are deeply grateful for their bravery, and for the work they do day in, day out, to make our development mission possible. Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased at this terrible hour.”
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Rest in peace to the fallen heroes of Edinburgh International. You defended your client and paid the ultimate price in the process. USAID and the companies involved in this should award these fallen heroes with medals of valor, because if these were soldiers in any army, they certainly would have been recognized for these actions.
The interesting thing here is the attack shows a definite pattern. Suicide assaulters blasting the entry point and swarming the target, looking for opportunities of attack as they penetrate deeper. I would also be curious if they were wearing body armor under their suicide vests or if they were wearing ANA or ANP uniform? Regardless, the defense that the EI guys had in place, was able to protect what was important and kill all six suicide assaulters. I would be interested in reading the AAR for this and hopefully any lessons learned is getting out to other learning organizations/guard forces throughout Afghanistan. –Matt
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Firefighters try to put out a fire in a building which was attacked by Taliban insurgents in Kunduz Photo: REUTERS
DAI Project Office Attacked in Afghanistan, Four People Killed
July 2, 2010
DAI is today mourning the loss of four staff following an early morning attack on our Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) Program office in Kunduz, Afghanistan. All four of those killed worked for our security subcontractor, Edinburgh International (EI).
“The actions taken by the EI security staff in defense of the compound and project staff were nothing short of heroic,” said DAI President and CEO James Boomgard. “We are deeply grateful for their bravery, and for the work they do day in, day out, to make our development mission possible. Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased at this terrible hour.”
One British, one German, and two Afghan nationals were killed in the incident, and several more EI staff were injured. Two DAI staff were injured but all are safe and receiving medical care under the auspices of the Provincial Reconstruction Team.