The attack started at about 1 pm local time, with the attackers launching RPGs from a 9-story building that stands within striking distance of the embassy and HQ. During these attacks, suicide bombers took to other government structures across the city.

What resulted was an standoff between the Taliban and Afghan police forces, backed by NATO soldiers. The standoff lasted overnight, ending on Wednesday morning. According to reports, 27 people were killed, including police, civilians and insurgents.

When the real fighting ended, the battle on the internet began as NATO and the Taliban sparred on Twitter. That’s right, the Taliban has an official Twitter account. More than one, actually – and two particular accounts were involved in this social media dustup.

Yesterday, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) tweeted about the attacks, blaming the Taliban for the loss of civilian life –

One Taliban account, @ABalkhi, responded –

NATO hit back –

The Taliban struck back, referencing the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) -

NATO turned their sights on another known Taliban account, @alemarahweb.

Here’s the linked video, showing an ISAF commander checking in on his troops following the Kabul attacks.

Even in this age of social media, it is still strange to see this sort of war posturing on a service like Twitter. It just goes to show the incredibly wide range of topics and issues that social media can address. On one side, you’ve got folks talking about Justin Bieber vs. The Jonas Brothers and on the other side you have squabbles that have life and death consequences.

Heavy, man.

The account, @alemarahweb, is linked to the official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.  The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was the name of the ruling powers of the Taliban from 1996 to 2001 when they took control of Kabul and 90% of the country.  This regime was famous for their harsh treatment of women and the Shia minority in Afghanistan.  The Taliban became synonymous with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda following 9/11.

So yeah, that Taliban is now active in the world of social media.

The account in question has been around for s few months now, but it just tweeted its first English tweet late yesterday.  The Guardian first reported the account and their shift to English:

Their Twitter feed, @alemarahweb, pumps out several messages a day, keeping 993 followers up to date with often highly exaggerated reports of strikes against the “infidel forces” and the “Karzai puppet regime”. Most messages are in Pashtu, with links to news stories on the elaborate and multilingual website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban’s shadow government likes to style itself.

Today, the feed broke into English for the first time, with a tweet about an attack on police in Farah province.

The above tweet takes the form of most of the English language tweets (about 8 in total) put out by the Taliban.  They are usually death reports and refer to the U.S. as “invaders.”  The reports range from ground troop deaths to helicopters shot down to US tanks being “obliterated.”

When the Guardian reported on the account last night it had just under 1,000 followers.  At the writing of this article it has 2,814 followers.  The account is following only 12 other accounts, including an Afghani carpet weaving group and a children’s mini-circus based in Kabul.  Strangley enough the Taliban’s account also follows a USAF logistics readiness officer currently deployed in Afghanistan.  How’s that phrase go?  Keep your friends close but follow your enemies on Twitter?

The Taliban’s embrace of technology seems a little odd, considering that they declared the internet as “wrong” and “against Islam” before banning it back in 2001.  But, let’s remember, we thought Osama bin Laden was still holed up in a cave somewhere before we found him in a million dollar compound.  And as far as technology goes, we collected a treasure trove of information from his computers and drives that we are still in the process of sorting through.

The military says that the goal of its social networking strategy is to engage non-traditional audiences directly with news, videos, pictures and other information.

Since beta testing began on May 12, the USFOR-A Facebook page has attracted more than 5,000 fans and the usfora Twitter page has drawn more than 1,600 followers. The military’s YouTube channel has been viewed nearly 3,000 times since its launch. There was no active marketing of sites during the beta testing period.

For those that become Facebook fans or sign up to follow tweets will receive an inside look at reports, videos and images from troops on the ground, including content that is not available to the mainstream media.

The military says the pages have quickened the pace at which commanders can get information to the public, allowing them to preempt extremist propaganda. The Taliban regularly make false claims of military victories to the Afghan press, which more often quotes insurgent groups than western spokespeople.

The U.S. Forces-Afghanistan’s social networking activities are not focused on countering insurgent claims in the Afghan media, but the aim of its online presence is to help strip militants of their attempt to influence the international press.
 

The new Web site CommunityofVeterans.org, provides information that can help veterans with transitional and readjustment issues, including a searchable database of national and local resources on topics such as jobs, education and health.

CommunityofVeterans.org aims to foster connections among veterans and allow them to communicate with each other. The Web site and private community were developed by BarkleyREI.

"Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population has served in the current conflicts and it’s critical that returning troops are able to connect with people who understand what they’ve been through. The PSAs and groundbreaking social networking site will go a long way toward helping these heroes readjust," said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

The new PSAs and Website have been researched and tested with veterans, their familes and the public. MTV has made a commitment to support the new campaign through primetime content and on their social media channel, ThinkMTV.

AOL has also donated its resources to design the campaign’s Web banners and has made a commitment along with Google to support the ads on Veterans Day and in the coming months.

Beginning this week, an integrated social media program will promote the campaing on popular social networking sites and blogs targeted to service members andd their families.

A memo told soldiers not to wear their uniforms in online photos and not to reveal their military ties. The CBC reported the memo said," Al Qaeda operatives are monitoring Facebook and other social networking sites."

"This may seem overdramatic but the infroamtion can be used to target members for further exploitation. It also opens the door for you families and friends to become potential targets as well."

The Defense Department is also worried about postings of photos and information from the war in Afghanistan. Canada currently has 2,500 soldiers serving in Afghanistan. A Canadian military official cautioned that battle scene photos could aid the enemy and provide information that could be used for their advantage.

Military families are taking the Defense Departments advice seriously. Samie Marchand-Whittle, whose husband is in the Canadian Forces, closed public access to the Facebook profile she keeps for military families.

"It’s scary to know that they could find out personal information about our families, our children, where we live," she said. "It is really scary."

Sunil Ram, an international security and defense analyst, does not agree with the military’s warning about posting information on social networking sites.

"What we’re really talking about is censorship more than anything else," he said. "This is the military’s attempt to control the imagery of what is actually happening on the ground."