Aug 8, 2021: An Afghan Air Force pilot was killed in a bomb blast in Kabul on Saturday, officials said, adding that the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack.

#الفتح:
مهم: نن سهار دکابل چهار آسیاب ولسوالۍ بازارکلا چهارسوق سیمه کې د مزدور دښمن یو تن پیلوټ حمیدالله عظیمي(چې دامریکایي بلیک هاک هلیکوپترو پیلوټ و او پرملکي خلکو په بمباریوکې یې برخه لرله) دسپرلۍ په موټرتکتیکي چاودنه وشوه.
په چاودنه کې نوموړی و وژل شو او موټر یې له منځه لاړ. pic.twitter.com/SZ5DuuUwA7

— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) August 7, 2021

Authorities say pilot Hameedullah Azimi was killed when a sticky stick from his car exploded. Force Commander Abdul Fattah Ishaqzai told Reuters that Azimi had been trained to fly an American-made UH60 Black Hawk helicopter and had served with the Afghan Air Force for about four years.

Ishaqzai added that he had moved to Kabul with his family a year ago due to security threats. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the Taliban attacked the pilot.

The Taliban has confirmed a program to “target and eliminate” US-trained Afghan pilots. US and Afghan officials believe it is a deliberate attempt by US and NATO-trained military pilots to destroy Afghanistan as fighting escalates across the country.

The Taliban – who do not have an air force – want to level the playing field as they suppress large-scale ground attacks that have seen them rapidly seize territory since May.

Encouraged by Washington’s announcement that it would end its military mission by the end of August, the Taliban have launched a nationwide military offensive that has gained momentum in recent days.

On Friday, insurgents took control of Zaranj on the Iranian border in Afghanistan’s southern province of Nimroz. As the Taliban keep an eye on other cities, the Afghan Air Force has played a key role in holding them back.

Azimi’s death came just days after the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a report to the US Congress, said the targeting of pilots was another “worrisome development” for the Afghan Air Force as it reels from a surge in fighting.

In its quarterly report, which ran for three months from June, SIGAR described the Air Force as increasingly under pressure and less prepared to fight. Its fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters had a 39% readiness rate in June, about half the level of April and May.

All aircraft platforms have exceeded the limit due to increasing requests for air support, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance missions and air reconnaissance, as the (Afghan Army) is now largely dependent on US air support, the report said.

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