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Taliban Claims Responsibility For Daring Attack In Central Kabul

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 13.09.2011 17:09

By RFE/RL

KABUL -- Taliban suicide fighters in Kabul have stormed a multistory building that is under construction, taking over the structure and using it as a fortress tower to fire rockets toward several nearby embassies and NATO compounds.

Afghan officials said at least one policeman and two attackers were killed in gun battles within a few hours of the attack on September 13, and that fighting was continuing with several other militants.

Officials later said at least six people had been killed and at least 15 wounded in the attack.

The fighting was taking place in what is usually the most heavily protected part of Kabul.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the violence, saying the targets included the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the U.S. Embassy, and Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), as well as other "sensitive government facilities."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying it would not stop the transition process in Afghanistan and would only serve to "embolden our people's determination in responsibility for their country's affairs."

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the attack "cowardly," and said the United States would work with the Afghan authorities to "ensure that those who perpetrated this attack are dealt with."

"The opposition of violent extremists, the Taliban, and their allies, engage in a constant effort to threaten and to undermine the peace and progress of the Afghan people," Clinton said. "So we will be vigilant, but we will be continuing with even greater commitment to doing all we can to give the Afghan people who have suffered so much a chance at a better future for themselves and their children."

The attack is one of the Taliban's most ambitious commando-style operations to date in its fight to evict Afghanistan's central government from power and defeat tens of thousands of NATO-led troops.

Running Battle

Rahimullah Samandar, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan Kabul bureau director, reported from the scene of the violence that Afghan police had blocked off roads leading to diplomatic missions while security forces continued battling the militants inside the building.

At least two NATO helicopters could also be seen circling and firing into the building near Kabul's central Abdul Haq Square.

The militants could be seen carrying AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. NATO vehicles were reportedly also coming under attack from mortar fire.

Khawani, a Kabul resident who owns a nearby cigarette shop, claimed he also saw the attackers wearing suicide vests.

"The suicide bombers are on the building and are firing," he said. "You can hear the explosions. I escaped from my cigarette shop because it was near the site."

U.S. Embassy In 'Duck-And-Cover' Mode

According to Mohammad Zahir, head of Kabul's Criminal Investigation Unit, there were as many as five militants involved in the assault.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sadiq Sediqqi told RFE/RL that at least three of the gunmen had fortified themselves within the tower.

"[According to the immediate information I have received from the area], three or four gunmen are hiding in a building and firing at police," he said. "I can't say what their potential target could be, but it is a residential area. I basically think [the attack] is aimed at terrorizing and killing innocent civilians."

U.S. Embassy spokesmen Gavin Sundwall said all U.S. Embassy staff had taken shelter and were in "duck-and-cover" mode.

A U.S. Embassy statement said no embassy personnel had been killed or injured, but fighting was continuing.

Sundwall said he was not able to confirm witness reports that a sniper was also firing into the sprawling U.S. Embassy compound.

But RFE/RL correspondents reported loud explosions interspersed with gunfire through the early afternoon.

At least two rockets landed in the upscale residential and shopping district of Wazir Akbar Khan, which is home to the embassies of the United States, Britain, and other Western countries.

Afghan officials say one rocket hit a school bus. But the vehicle appeared to be empty when it was struck. At least four wounded civilians have been taken to hospitals.

with reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan and news agencies

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/explosions_in_afghan_capital/24326813.html

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Taliban Claims Responsibility For Daring Attack In Central Kabul