Bold attacks raise security fears as Afghan election nears

KABUL — Violence erupted in two major cities in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, heightening security fears nearly two weeks before national elections that the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.

Gunfire broke out late at night in a heavily fortified hotel in downtown Kabul, sending occupants fleeing for safety, and in Jalalabad a predawn raid left 10 policemen dead.

The gunfire in Kabul’s luxury Serena Hotel, which is frequented by foreigners, was heard about 9 p.m., police officials said. An hour later the gunfire had stopped. All four gumen were killed by police, said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry. Three hotel employees were taken to the hospital, Sediqqi said, but officials were still trying to determine if there were casualties among guests.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC News that the insurgent group was responsible, but his claim was not confirmed by police. Sediqqi could not confirm the attackers were Taliban, but said they were terrorists.

An American inside the Serena at the time, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, told Stars and Stripes by phone during the attack that the hotel’s armed guards herded occupants into a secure location after shots rang out, reportedly in the hotel’s restaurant.

The hotel is a massively fortified structure in comparison with many of Kabul’s private buildings and it was unclear how the gunmen got their weapons through security, but Sediqqi said they apparently were some type of small pistols and easily hidden.

The Serena routinely hosts high-ranking foreign officials, diplomats, and journalists, especially now in the run-up to the election. Its parking lot is often crowded with United Nations vehicles, and it is generally considered one of the safest places in Kabul.

Its high profile, however, might have prompted a 2008 attack that left six people dead.

Earlier Thursday, insurgents stormed a police station and the provincial governor’s office before dawn in the eastern city of Jalalabad. In addition to the 10 police officers, the seven attackers also died in the five-hour gun battle, which began with near simultaneous explosions at the police station and the governor’s office and ended with street-by-street fighting, Nangarhar province police chief Fazal Ahmed Sherzad told Stars and Stripes.

Three attackers blew themselves up during the fighting, while the other four were killed by the security forces, he said.

Concern about security is mounting in Afghanistan ahead of the April 5 elections, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the U.S. and its allies ousted the Taliban regime after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the elections, calling them a “plot of the invaders” whose outcome has already been determined by foreign intelligence agencies.

Among the dead police officers were the station chief and the deputy commander of the rapid-reaction force that responded to the attack, Sherzad said. A student was also killed in the crossfire, and 14 officers were wounded.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on social media and in messages to news outlets, saying they had targeted the police station before moving on to other targets.

At least 17 civilians died in a suicide bombing in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday. No one claimed responsibility for that attack, and the exact target of the blast was unclear.

Neither the Faryab nor Jalalabad attacks were explicitly aimed at election-related targets, but Ahmad Majidyar, a senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute, said the recent violence is worrisome because even if the Taliban fail to prevent the election, fears over security could keep some Afghans at home and result in a skewed election tally.

“It is worrying because the violence is much more than expected,” he said.

“I don’t think the Taliban have the capability to disrupt the election completely, but if the level of violence continues to rise in the south and the east, then that could disenfranchise a lot of Pashtuns and undermine the legitimacy of the elections.”

The eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan have been plagued by guerilla warfare and terrorist attacks for years, but the Taliban have promised to increase their campaign of violence before and during the elections.

“We have given orders to all our Mujahideen to use all force at its disposal to disrupt these upcoming sham elections,” the Taliban said in a statement released online on March 10.

smith.josh@stripes.com

Twitter: @joshjonsmith

KMC child molester apprehended, convicted

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Nearly three years after the first reported molestation of a child in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, an airman formerly assigned to Ramstein Air Base has been convicted of committing numerous sexual and kidnapping offenses against four young victims.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael L. Merritt was sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment Tuesday by a military judge at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., according to Air Force officials in Europe and Wyoming.

His length of confinement, however, will be capped at 25 years, due to the terms of a pretrial agreement, according to joint news releases issued by U.S. Air Forces in Europe and F.E. Warren. Air Force officials said there was no other limitation on the sentence.

Merritt’s punishment also included reduction to airman basic, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge.

In exchange for the pretrial agreement, Merritt, during a judge-only general court-martial, pleaded guilty to charges involving four children over a period of 10 years, from 2003 to 2013. Those charges included aggravated sexual assault, sexual abuse, sodomy, assault consummated by a battery, kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, the Air Force said.

Merritt was a facility manager for the 319th Missile Squadron at F.E. Warren. He served there in a support role and did not have direct contact with the base’s nuclear operations mission, officials said. The pretrial agreement saved four young child victims from having to testify and recount Merritt’s abuse in a litigated trial, according to the F.E. Warren news release.

Most of the charges against Merritt stemmed from offenses he committed while he was at Ramstein, an assignment that began in October 2006 and ended in August 2013, when he made a permanent-change-of-station move to F.E. Warren, officials said.

The releases said the offenses occurred on bases in Germany and the U.S. But officials would not say where he was stationed before Germany, citing the ongoing investigation.

An investigation in Germany was launched after a child came forward in January 2012 to say a man had pulled her into his car and molested her in the Ramstein housing area, according to the USAFE news release. Air Force officials said in 2012 that the incident occurred in August 2011.

Several children in Ramstein and Vogelweh housing areas came forward within that year to report kidnapping attempts and molestations, according to the USAFE news release.

The perpetrator lured children in broad daylight inside the gated military communities while reportedly wearing clothing that resembled a military uniform.

Base officials stepped up security patrols, held town hall meetings to spread the word, and tightened child supervision rules, raising the age limit that children could be left unsupervised.

“We are grateful that the families of the KMC area finally have closure on this,” Lt. Gen. Tom Jones, USAFE and Air Forces Africa vice commander and KMC commander, was quoted as saying in the news release. “This predator caused a lot of pain and suffering in our community, and we hope this conviction provides healing and a sense of security for all those affected.”

Merritt for months eluded detection. Investigators pinpointed Merritt as the sole perpetrator after forensic evidence analyzed by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory matched evidence found on some of the children’s clothing, said Lt. Col. Christopher J. Ouellette, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 13th Field Investigations Squadron commander, according to the USAFE release.

The forensic evidence, combined with witness testimonies and corroborated circumstantial evidence, helped lead to his arrest at F.E. Warren, officials said.

Merritt was taken into military custody last October, after his reassignment to F.E. Warren in August.

USAFE officials said Merritt, while in Germany, lived in Vogelweh housing. At Ramstein, he held a variety of jobs at the 86th Airlift Wing and 435th Munitions Squadron.

The investigation into Merritt’s actions are continuing, Ouellette said, and it’s believed there could be many more victims. Individuals who may have knowledge of crimes by Merritt, or may have been a potential victim of his or other unknown perpetrators, are urged to contact OSI.

Investigators spent several months conducting more than 600 interviews and collecting more than 250 forensic samples from potential suspects. OSI agents received more than 100 tips from KMC residents, said Special Agent Michael Tischer, 13th FIS, Major Crimes Division.

“Without direct community involvement, leadership support and cooperation from the brave victims, we would not have succeeded in identifying this sexual predator,” Tischer was quoted as saying in the release.

svan.jennifer@stripes.com

Top enlisted leader of Army garrison in Wiesbaden relieved of duty

By Matt Millham

Stars and Stripes

Published: March 20, 2014

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The top enlisted leader for the U.S. Army garrison in Wiesbaden has been relieved of his post more than three months after he was suspended over an alcohol-related incident off base.

Command Sgt. Maj. Sa’eed Mustafa was “administratively relieved” March 3 due to an off-post incident on Nov. 22, 2013, Installation Management Command-Europe said in a statement Thursday.

“He is currently assigned to Installation Management Command Europe in a position commensurate with his rank,” the statement said.

Mustafa was suspended as garrison sergeant major on Nov. 25 “based on an alcohol-related incident” in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, the Wiesbaden garrison said in December.

Mustafa on Tuesday declined to be interviewed, citing “pending legal matters.” Neither he nor his attorneys responded by deadline Thursday to an email seeking comment on his being administratively relieved.

Command Sgt. Maj. Roy L. Rocco is to assume responsibility as the Wiesbaden garrison sergeant major on March 24. Master Sgt. Richard Jungmann, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the garrison’s emergency services directorate, has served as acting garrison sergeant major since Mustafa’s suspension.

millham.matthew@stripes.com

Twitter: @mattmillham

Midshipman in Naval Academy sex case not guilty

WASHINGTON — A military judge found a former U.S. Naval Academy football player not guilty of a sexual assault charge Thursday at the conclusion of a three-day trial.

Col. Daniel Daugherty acquitted Joshua Tate of Nashville, Tenn., of one count of aggravated sexual assault. During the trial, prosecutors argued that the woman Tate was accused of assaulting, a Naval Academy classmate, was too drunk to consent to sexual activity. Tate's attorneys disagreed.

The judge said Thursday that the facts of the case "present difficult and complex questions," but he concluded prosecutors had not proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard required for convicting Tate.

Just hours before the verdict, a separate court-martial unfolding in Fort Bragg, N.C. also ended in favor of the defense.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair was reprimanded and docked four months' pay but avoided prison time for carrying on a three-year affair with a captain who later claimed she had been sexually assaulted.

The two cases underscore the military's attempts to grapple with sexual misconduct within its ranks. A Pentagon report released last year estimated that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted in the prior year and that thousands of victims are unwilling to come forward out of fear their careers might be derailed.

One of Tate's attorneys, Jason Ehrenberg, said after the ruling that "the system worked." But he criticized what he said was a clearly political environment that had pushed his client's case along. He said it never should have reached trial.

Ehrenberg said his client's reaction to the decision was "one of great relief." And he called him a "good young man."

An attorney for the woman at the center of the case, meanwhile, said in a telephone interview after the judge's verdict that "deeply disappointed doesn't adequately describe" his client's reaction to the case's outcome.

Ryan Guilds said his client was "appalled by the lack of accountability" and said the case's outcome was a result of a "flawed military system" and a failed investigation. The Associated Press generally doesn't name alleged victims of sexual assault.

More than a dozen witnesses testified at Tate's trial. That included the alleged victim, who testified for more than five hours and said she didn't remember being sexually assaulted after a night of heavy drinking but heard from others she had had sex with multiple partners at the party. She said she confronted Tate, who confirmed they'd had sex.

Prosecutors initially accused not only Tate but also two other students, both of them former football players, of sexually assaulting the woman during a 2012 party at an off-campus house in Annapolis, Md., where the school is located. Tate was the only student ultimately brought to court-martial, the military's equivalent of a trial.

The head of the Naval Academy decided not to go forward with courts martial for the other two students, Tra'ves Bush of Johnston, S.C., and Eric Graham of Eight Mile, Ala. The military held an Article 32 hearing, which resembles a preliminary hearing in civilian court, in August and September of 2013. Following that hearing, the academy's head, Vice Admiral Michael H. Miller, decided in October not to pursue charges against Bush.

Charges against Graham were dropped in January. Prosecutors had recommended that move after a military judge said statements Graham made during an investigation would not be admissible during a military trial.

Soldiers needed to appear in 'Nashville' episode

The TV show “Nashville” is holding a casting call Thursday at Fort Campbell, Ky., according to a message posted on the base’s Facebook page.

Producers are looking for soldiers and family members to serve as extras during filming to take place next week on Monday and Tuesday, the message says. Thursday’s casting call will be held from 5-7 p.m. at the Main PX and is open only to those with military ID.

The popular ABC drama follows the careers and personal lives of two rival country music stars played by Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights,” “American Horror Story”) and Hayden Panettiere ( “Heroes”).

“This call will identify specific individuals for specific scenes,” the message says. “However, the concert sequence to be shot on Tuesday, March 25 is open to any military ID card holder. It's an outdoor concert, which will be held at Saber Airfield.

“Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the day. Individuals positioned around the stage itself should plan on being there the entire day to assist in production continuity.”

The post continues to roll out more details and advises soldiers to follow the official Facebook page.

Australian PM: 2 objects spotted in search for Malaysia Airlines jet

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Australia's prime minister said Thursday that two objects possibly related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight have been spotted on satellite imagery in the Indian Ocean and an air force aircraft was diverted to the area to try to locate them.

The Orion aircraft was expected to arrive in the area Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament in Canberra. Three additional aircraft are expected to follow for a more intensive search, he said.

Abbott called it "credible information," adding that after "specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified."

But Abbott cautioned that locating the objects could be extremely difficult and "it may turn out that they are not related to the search for flight MH370."

He did not say where the objects were. Military planes from Australia, the U.S. and New Zealand were covering a search region over the southern Indian Ocean that was narrowed down on Wednesday from 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) to 305,000 square kilometers (117,000 square miles).

The hunt for the Boeing 777 has been punctuated by several false leads since it disappeared March 8 above the Gulf of Thailand.

Oil slicks that were spotted did not contain jet fuel. A yellow object thought to be from the plane turned out to be a piece of sea trash. Chinese satellite images showed possible plane debris, but nothing was found. But this is the first time that possible objects have been spotted since the search area was massively expanded into two corridors, one stretching from northern Thailand into Central Asia and the other from the Strait of Malacca down to southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

Abbott said he spoke to the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, about the latest developments. Australia's envoy to Malaysia, Rod Smith, joined a meeting of senior Malaysia search officials at a Kuala Lumpur hotel after Abbott's announcement. Smith did not respond to reporters' questions.

"As I've been doing from day one, I've followed every single lead. And this time, I hope it is a positive development," Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters.

Nearly two weeks after the plane went missing, the FBI has joined forces with Malaysian authorities in analyzing deleted data on a flight simulator belonging to the pilot of the missing jet.

Files containing records of flight simulations were deleted Feb. 3 from the device found in the home of the pilot, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu said.

It was not clear whether investigators thought that deleting the files was unusual. They might hold hints of unusual flight paths that could help explain where the missing plane went, or the files could have been deleted simply to clear memory for other material.

Hishammuddin told a news conference Wednesday that Zaharie is considered innocent until proven guilty. He said members of the pilot's family are cooperating in the investigation.

Zaharie was known to some within the online world of flight simulation enthusiasts.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation by name, said the FBI has been asked to analyze the deleted simulator files.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in Washington that the FBI was working with Malaysian authorities. "At this point, I don't think we have any theories," he said.

Flight 370 disappeared March 8 on a night flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation, but have said the evidence so far suggests the flight was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca, with its communications systems disabled. They are unsure what happened next.

Investigators have identified two giant arcs of territory spanning the possible positions of the plane about 7½ hours after takeoff, based on its last faint signal to a satellite — an hourly "handshake" signal that continues even when communications are switched off. The arcs stretch up as far as Kazakhstan in central Asia and down deep into the southern Indian Ocean.

Police are considering the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board, and have asked for background checks from abroad on all foreign passengers.

Gelineau reported from Sydney, Australia. Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.

Accuser in Naval Academy sex assault case grilled on witness stand

WASHINGTON — Closing arguments are expected Thursday in the court-martial of a Naval Academy football player accused of sexually assaulting a fellow midshipman, following testimony Wednesday when the alleged victim acknowledged initially withholding information from investigators and asking the defendant to lie.

Midshipman Joshua Tate, a junior from Nashville, Tenn., is charged with aggravated sexual assault and three counts of making a false statement to agents who investigated the April 2012 off-campus party at which the woman believes she was assaulted. The case is being heard by a military judge, Marine Corps Col. Daniel Daugherty, at the Washington Navy Yard.

The woman, now a senior at the academy, testified that she drank heavily before and during the party and did not remember having sex with Tate. She learned later through the academy rumor mill and postings on social media that she may have been assaulted.

The Baltimore Sun does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault.

On Wednesday, she said she didn’t cooperate with investigators in the months after the incident and held back information. She said she had confronted Tate and he acknowledged that the two had sex, but she was “unwilling” to tell that to investigators because she wanted the case to go away.

She said she had a change of heart after the investigation was closed, and cooperated when it was reopened.

Tate’s attorney, Jason Ehrenberg played a recording of a phone call Tate made in which the woman told him, “I hate to ask you to lie, but I don’t want this to go anywhere. ... They have no names, they have nothing.”

In the recording, Tate said it didn’t make sense to lie if investigators didn’t have his name, and that being asked to lie “ain’t cool.”

The woman told the judge she didn’t realize the recording existed until it was played at a preliminary hearing last year.

Prosecutors have attempted to prove that the alleged victim, who testified for about five hours Tuesday and Wednesday, was so drunk she couldn’t have consented to having sex with Tate in a car outside the “football house” party.

Tate’s attorneys have tried to show that although the woman had been drinking, she was able to talk, walk and understand what was going on.

Tate did not testify during the court-martial. If found guilty, he faces up to 30 years in prison for the assault charge and five years for each false statement charge.

Eight other midshipmen testified, offering varied accounts of how much the alleged victim drank and how she acted at the party. Midshipman Eric Graham, who was initially charged in the case but later had those charges dropped, said he was in a car with the alleged victim and she did not seem to be incapacitated.

Attorneys also entered a statement from another football player initially accused, Tra’ves Bush, now an ensign in the Navy. The statement described conversations Bush said he had with the woman in a hallway and a bedroom.

A defense expert, Dr. Thomas Grieger, said he thought the alleged victim was able to make decisions because, according to testimony, she could walk, talk, dance, hold conversations and make jokes at different times during the party.

At the end of Wednesday’s session, Daugherty said that if he finds Tate not guilty of assault, he’ll send the false statement charges back to the academy. He called them “add-on” charges and noted that others who had been accused of lying had their cases handled within the academy’s disciplinary system, not in court.