Iraqi Embassy attacked by ISIS

AMIR SHAH

KABUL — Islamic State targeted the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul on Monday, with a suicide bomber blowing himself up outside the gates, followed by three gunmen who stormed into the building. The assault set off a four-hour firefight that ended only after Afghan security forces said they had killed all the attackers.

There were conflicting reports of casualties as the attack unfolded, with a witness saying he saw the bodies of at least two policemen lying on the road outside the embassy soon after the attack began.

In its claim of responsibility, Islamic State said its fighters had killed seven guards, but the militant group often exaggerates its claims on the number of casualties inflicted. The attack likely meant to distract attention from the militants’ massive losses in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks.

Also, Islamic State said only two of its followers were involved in the attack, not four as Kabul officials said, adding to the conflicting information.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said only one policeman was wounded and that there were no fatalities among the security forces or civilians. Danish said over the phone that all the embassy staffers were safe but that the building had suffered extensive damage, with windows broken and several rooms badly burned.

In Baghdad, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal condemned the assault as a “terrorist attack.”

The Afghan Interior Ministry said a suicide bomber first started the attack, blowing himself up at the embassy gate, after which three attackers stormed inside.

The ministry statement said Afghan security forces quickly deployed to the scene, rescuing all the embassy diplomats and employees and taking them to safety.

More than an hour into the attack, witnesses reported hearing another powerful explosion and said they saw black smoke billowing skyward. It wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the later explosion.

“The explosion was so strong. I was so afraid,” said Maryam, a woman crying near the site of the attack said. She said she works at the nearby office of Afghanistan’s National Airline Ariana.

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MASSOUD HOSSAINI/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Security forces are seen at the site of a suicide attack followed by a clash between Afghanistan’s forces and Islamic State fighters during an attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday.