December 9th, 2011
11:26 AM ET

Afghan general barely escapes assassination

The highest-ranking Afghan military officer in southern Afghanistan, Gen. Abdul Hameed, has survived an assassination attempt - but just barely.

After the general rose from his seat to hand out certificates at a graduation ceremony for Afghan soldiers, five grenades hidden under his seat were detonated by remote control, Gen. Abdul Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said Friday.

Hameed was not hurt.

The attack happened Thursday at a training center for the Afghan National Army in Kandahar, Azimi said. It injured one soldier, he said.

The blast happened at an event that had attracted several American military trainers and other dignitaries.

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soundoff (13 Responses)
  1. U-Turn

    I guess he was in the hot seat for the ceremony.

    December 9, 2011 at 11:30 am | Report abuse |
  2. BOMBO

    Grenades? Or did he have Chili for lunch?

    December 9, 2011 at 11:32 am | Report abuse |
  3. Portland tony

    The attempted assassination only proves that much of the Afghan society is ingrained in tribalism and customs long since abandoned by much of the civilized world. The local chieftain orders a hit and it's carried out. This is the mentality of the tribesmen. For their act of bravery, these assassins are honored and given an amount of prestige among other tribal members. It will take generations for these tribal loyalties to change. Not all Afghans hold these strong loyalties, but those
    that do are a very dangerous lot. They haven't a clue about how democracy works, let alone a modern judicial system.

    December 9, 2011 at 12:20 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Zeneral God

    @Portland Tony: Exactly.. It will be non stop warring forever. Time to cut and run.

    December 9, 2011 at 12:32 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Zeneral God

    How do 5 grenades go unnoticed?.. How do they not kill or injure anyone standing right next to them? Are you making this season stuff up cnn?

    December 9, 2011 at 12:38 pm | Report abuse |
  6. RUFFNUTT

    @ GERNERAL ZOD...
    .
    the grenades were left in a popcorn bag..

    December 9, 2011 at 12:39 pm | Report abuse |
  7. BOMBO

    Well, grenades are so common there, unfortunately, they might go unnoticed.

    December 9, 2011 at 12:48 pm | Report abuse |
  8. RUFFNUTT

    that seat musta been built outta steal or something real strong..

    December 9, 2011 at 12:52 pm | Report abuse |
  9. banasy©

    Soooo...nobody sitting around the General's chair was injured?
    And if it was set off by remote control, why did they wait until he arose before setting it off?
    Sounds a bit fishy...staged, maybe.
    For what purpose, who knows?

    December 9, 2011 at 1:38 pm | Report abuse |
    • Portland tony

      The insidious ways CNN gets us to comment. 5 grenades? It should have read 20!

      December 9, 2011 at 7:32 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Portland tony

    Probably a usage problem. Grenades in Afghan _ may not meanwhat we call grenades

    December 9, 2011 at 2:18 pm | Report abuse |
  11. leeintulsa

    American grenades, russian grenades, ALL made in taiwan..

    December 9, 2011 at 3:15 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Gravity7

    Reblogged this on Gravity7.

    December 9, 2011 at 4:40 pm | Report abuse |
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