Ignoring Karzai's call to ban the turban bomb, jihadists are exploiting the cultural sensitivity of the turban, or lungee in order to sneak explosives into major gathering places. This time, three police were injured, no deaths occured, it was a lucky break for the gathered crowd.
From The Long War Journal August 20 by Matt Dupee
3rd 'Turban bomb' attack rocks southern Helmand province
For the third time this summer, a Taliban suicide bomber with an explosive device hidden within his traditional Afghan headdress detonated at an Afghan government center. The Friday attack occurred during a ceremony marking Afghanistan's Independence Day held at the Helmand Military Corps Center. Three Afghan National Policemen were wounded in the attack.
The Taliban-led insurgency is increasingly relying upon formerly-taboo tactics such as female suicide bombers and bombs rigged to traditional Afghan headdresses, called lungee, referred to by the West as "turbans." These tactics have raised the ire of many Afghan communities, particularly among those in Kandahar and Helmand. Afghan lungee are not searched at security checkpoints because of the acute level of cultural sensitivity regarding headdresses. The Taliban have exploited this dynamic and conducted at least three such "turban-bombings" since July 14.
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