Unbelievable

[Jackie]

I skyped with my nephew, Shaun, on Sunday. He is okay. His hand is in a brace and he had 15 pieces of shrapnel removed... one piece in his face they are going to leave in. He is remaining in Afghanistan and will be back on duty after a month or so. He received a purple heart with a bunch of benefits like aid for his child's college tuition (nice).

No one died, thanks to Shaun's diligence... spotting this guy before he got any closer. He detonated his suicide vest about 15 meters away from 18 soldiers. Shaun was the closest. He was thrown to the ground. His rifle was blown ten feet away. He captain got a piece of shrapnel went through the throat to his spine. He'll be ok but was evacuated to Germany with a couple of others who were badly wounded.

They stopped to help a Special Forces truck. Turns out the truck flipped when a motorcycle pulled out in front of them in front of some shops near Kandahar airport. Nato (British) troops also stopped to help and that's when the suicide bomber appeared. Shaun said they made eye contact. It was a kid about 15 years old. He had the "look of death" on his face. They shave all facial hair (beards,etc) to prepare to present themselves to Allah after they die. Shaun spotted this kid coming round a corner and knew immediately he was there to kill the Americans. When Shaun yelled at him to stop and reached for his weapon, this kid started running fast toward them and blew himself up. There were body parts everywhere.

The news reports said that the Nato troops were the target. Well, no one died except the suicide bomber. I googled "suicide bomber Kandahar Nato Friday" and saw about 5 articles on various web sites. No doubt I'm now on the government's watch list!!

But can you imagine? A 15 year old boy.... So sad. So stupid. So unbelievable.