Special Services

On Dec. 21^st, 2021, an improvised explosive device (EID) exploded in Rawza in Ghazni province, killing five Polish soldiers from the 20^th Mechanized Brigade from the town of Bartoszyce. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack which turned out to be the most tragic event in the history of the Polish mission in Afghanistan.

Immediately after the attack, the SKW, together with the Polish Military Intelligence Service (SWW) started collecting, analyzing and verifying information on the potential perpetrators and individuals involved in it. As a result, as early as in 2012, five terrorists were arrested.

Moreover, the activities of the SKW resulted in the identification of an Afghan interpreter who cooperated with the Taliban while working in the Forward Operating Base Ghazni. He was found to be the one who had informed the attackers about the location of the Polish PRT patrol bound for Rawza. By sharing its findings with the Afghan law enforcement services, the SKW contributed largely to the arrest of the man. It is worth noting that having served his time in prison, said interpreter sough to be evacuated from Afghanistan after the country was captured by the Taliban in August 2021. His attempts were in vain due to the warning issued by the Polish military counterintelligence agency.

The investigation into the 2011 terrorist attack found that the main suspect was a Taliban commander Eid Mohammad who had been in hiding in Pakistan. With that knowledge the SKW continued its activities aimed at tracking down all individuals implicated in this cowardly attack. Since 2011, as many as 350 pieces of information and intelligence were obtained by the agency in this case.

Eventually, on the night of 6^th to 7^th February, 2020, thanks to the information provided by the SKW the Afghan National Directorate of Security conducted an operation to arrest Eid Mohammad. The major goal of the operation was to bring the terrorist to justice. However, as a result of the gunfight started by the suspect and his bodyguards, the man was killed. He had specialized in carrying out terrorist attacks with the use of IEDs. Several dozen people – mainly citizens of Afghanistan and members of the Afghan Armed Forces – are believed to have been killed by IEDs planted by Eid Muhammad. The Afghan authorities considered him to be an extremely dangerous and one of the most wanted terrorists.

This dangerous terrorist was neutralized many years after the attack he had orchestrated. This success was largely due to the determination of the SKW that never gave up going after him. And even though the death of Eid Mohammad will not bring the five Polish soldiers killed by him in 2011 to life, the successful action of the agency may serve as a strong message that the perpetrators of such crimes will not go unpunished.

Spokesman for Poland’s Minister-Special Services Coordinator