Thread by @MujMash

A teenage shooter, two bursts of AK-47 rounds, & cases of pomegranates:
we trace chaotic moments of Gen. Raziq's assassination at the U.S. commander's side - & consequences that'll take the American military a good while to overcome.

@Tmgneff @Taimoornyt nytimes.com/2018/11/02/wor…

2. Like any assassination, lots of "what ifs" around Raziq too. The meeting at the governor's palace was his first big one in a longtime. He had been traveling (UAE etc), and when he returned he'd fallen ill with stomach problem & bed-ridden for days.

3. Gen. Raziq had also reduced his appareance at gov palace for another reason: he barely missed the devastating attack there last year, when a room full of VIPs was blown up.
As coincidence would have it, the HLZ where he was shot is just behind this room under construction now

4. After each attempt on his life, Raziq reconsidered his security & added layers. When I visited him in 2012 (he still recovering from wounds, burns & surgery), I had to go through at least 6 searches, take off my shoes and twist and bend them.
But Taliban had found soft spot.

5. The 2012 suicide bombing on Raziq had hurt him so bad that his feet could no longer carry military boots. So he rarely wore military uniform anymore.

This is his room in Mandigak, where he changed from his Kandahari clothes into khakis before heading to meeting with Miller

6. The rumor that the Americans had something do with Gen. Raziq’s killing - which grips the country - started near the scene, soon after the shooting. One guard had shouted that Americans shot Gen. Raziq (U.S. officials believe he may have been another infiltrator stoking anger)

7. That rumor was made worse by initial American response - that this was an “afghan on afghan attack,” and that “Raziq was the target and not Miller.”
That messaging was more aimed at Washington so larger objectives are not derailed. But it had adverse effect on the ground here

8. As we show in details of the scene in our story - & Taliban reaction - it's clear Gen. Raziq was priority. But the shooter did fire a round in the direction of Americans including Gen. Miller. He just didn't have time to do more damage. That doesn't mean Miller was NOT target.

9. Taliban celebrated Raziq's death right away, captured on fb videos.

At the central prison in Kabul, dozens of Taliban inmates danced to an improvised group chant: “O, they killed Raziq! In Kandahar, they killed Raziq!”

(Song & dance were forbidden during Taliban regime.)

10. Mohammed Nasim, a bodyguard of the governor who lived in next room to Raziq’s assassin(room locked by investigators now), described him as completely keeping to himself.

“He was quiet — he’d rarely say a word..But Basir Ahmad [supposed handler] would always be on his phone”

11. The fear that Kandahar might fray post-Raziq is not just because Taliban see an opportunity now.

But also: there is tremendous resources (that Raziq controlled) and rivalry (that Raziq had kept a lid on through ruthless dominance). Everyone deprived now see an opening.

12. In a battered nation gripped with fear, Gen. Raziq became an overnight martyr - his picture on roundabouts billboards, on windows of bakeries. His grave became a shrine.
(Few, even his victims, have come out to speak of his alleged abuses. His men still rule.)

13. One of the mourners at Gen. Raziq’s grave was Fatima, 60, from Daman district. Following his burial, she showed up for several days - staying dawn to dusk.

“He brought us tight security when the wolves were swallowing Kandahar,” she said. “Now you’ll see what his lack means”