Afghans detained in Panetta runway incident
Three people were detained after an Afghan tried to drive his truck into a welcoming party during Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's arrival at a military base in southern Afghanistan this week, a U.S. defense official said.
The three included the Afghan driver's father and brother, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Like the driver, the three were interpreters for coalition forces in Helmand Province, the official said.
The driver, who ditched the vehicle and emerged in flames, died yesterday of his burns. The official was uncertain whether the three were still in custody and didn't know whether the Afghan driver had been armed.
U.S. authorities haven't changed their assessment that the driver was unlikely to have targeted Panetta directly, the official told reporters traveling with the defense chief on his way back to Washington today. It's unlikely the driver could have known who was arriving on the busy airstrip at the British Camp Bastion, officials said.
The new U.S. Marine commander in southern Afghanistan and his British deputy were among the welcoming party, which scattered when the vehicle barreled toward them, the defense official said. In addition to Afghanistan, Panetta also made stops in Kyrgyzstan and the United Arab Emirates.
“I think he had an intent to harm,” Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti told reporters traveling with Panetta earlier this week, referring to the driver. “I think he tried to hit people on the ramp,” he said without elaborating.
Koran Burning
The incident was the latest clash between Afghans and Americans since the burning of copies of the Koran last month at the main U.S. military base outside the capital Kabul. The resulting tensions cast doubt on the Obama administration's strategy of working closely with Afghans to prepare them for taking over security fully by the end of 2014.
The March 11 shooting of 16 Afghan civilians, allegedly by an American soldier, has also cast a shadow over the relationship, though the killings haven't sparked any violent confrontations.
The vehicle, a British military SUV, was reported as stolen about 30 minutes before the incident with the arrival party, the official said. It was taken from Camp Leatherneck, a U.S. Marine base adjacent to Camp Bastion.
The driver ran into a British soldier with the stolen vehicle before the runway incident, the U.S. official said. The British soldier is recovering, the official said.
At the runway, base personnel noticed smoke and saw the Afghan driver on fire at about the time Panetta's plane was taxiing, the official said. The military cargo plane was diverted to park on another part of the runway.
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