Suicide bombers and gunmen attack Kabul police stations, 5 killed

16 wounded; Taliban and ISIS claim responsibility for the attacks

A series of loud explosions rocked Kabul, followed by volleys of gunfire as police engaged in fierce battles with militants Afghanistan’s intelligence agency blamed the Taliban’s Haqqani Network and Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for both incidents

Kabul, May 9: Suicide bombers and gunmen launched apparently coordinated attacks on two Kabul police stations on Wednesday, killing at least five people, with security forces still searching for several assailants as the city braces for more violence. A series of loud explosions rocked the Afghan capital in the late morning and were quickly followed by volleys of gunfire as police engaged in fierce battles with militants. The Taliban and Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks. But Afghanistan’s intelligence agency blamed the Taliban’s Haqqani Network and Pakistani militant group Lashkar-eTaiba for both incidents. At least five people were killed and 16 wounded in the attacks, health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told reporters. Two police officers were also killed, the interior ministry said, but it was not immediately clear if they were included in the health ministry’s toll. After an easing of attacks in Kabul in February, Taliban and IS militants have stepped up raids in recent months. ISIS claimed the first attack on a police station in a heavily Shiite-populated neighbourhood in the city’s west, which police spokesman Hashmatullah Estanakzai said had ended. Interior minister Wais Barmak told reporters three attackers were killed in that incident, after they used grenades to set fire to a room in the police compound. Two policemen were also killed and two others wounded, Barmak added. Majroh said four people were killed and nine wounded in that attack. Ariana TV footage showed a thick plume of black smoke rising into the sky while a photo posted on Twitter purportedly of the west Kabul police station showed a building on fire. The second attack, claimed by the Taliban, took place in front of a police station in Shar-eNaw neighbourhood in downtown Kabul where special forces were still searching for them. “A suicide bomber detonated his vest at the entrance of the street and a car dropped four other attackers nearby,” Barmak explained. “One was killed by the police and three are still hiding in a building.” Majroh said one person was killed and eight others wounded. Estanakzai told AFP that surrounding buildings had been evacuated but it was not clear if people were trapped inside with the attackers.