AT LEAST 43 DIE IN ATTACK ON AFGHAN GOVERNMENT COMPOUND
▶ Taliban denies reponsibility for car-bombing and raid by gunmen
At least 43 people were killed in an hours-long gun and bomb attack on a Kabul government compound in one of the deadliest assaults in the capital this year, officials said yesterday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the raid on Monday, which caps a bloody year for Afghanistan as long-suffering civilians and security troops are killed in record numbers.
The Taliban had nothing to do with the raid, spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.
Twenty-seven people were wounded in the fighting at the compound, which holds the Ministry of Public Works and an office that handles pensions and benefits for war veterans, Health Ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said.
Gunmen stormed into the complex in the middle of the afternoon after detonating two car bombs at the main entrance, which is opposite residential apartment blocks.
As they entered two buildings, terrified workers ran for their lives. Some jumped from windows several floors up to escape the militants.
The blasts may have been decoys, because witnesses said they saw fighters enter the compound through a back gate.
Hundreds were trapped inside for hours as heavily armed security troops swarmed into the area, engaging the attackers in a firefight punctuated by explosions.
Ministry employee Amdullah Barekzai hid under his desk for five hours, listening to gunfire and blasts inside his building.
“When the security forces took us from the office I saw many bodies covered in blood, lying in the corridors,” Mr Barekzai said.
At least four militants were killed and more than 350 people freed, officials said. Most of the dead and wounded were civilians.
“It was a barbaric attack against humanity,” Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.
It was the deadliest assault in the Afghan capital since a bomber blew himself up in the middle of a religious gathering last month, killing 55 people.
“Terrorists attack civilian targets to hide their defeat on the battleground,” said President Ashraf Ghani, whose government has been criticised for its security failings.
Afghanistan’s chief executive, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, was also defiant as he blamed the Taliban for the attack.
“Every attack they carry out against our people, our resolve is further strengthened to eliminate them,” Dr Abdullah said.
But their statements belie the grim reality on the battlefield, where the Taliban have the upper hand.
Afghanistan’s largest militant group has made significant territorial gains this year as its fighters inflict record casualties on government forces.
The raid followed a tumultuous few days in Afghanistan where officials are reeling from US President Donald Trump’s plan to slash troop numbers, which many fear could harm efforts to end the conflict with the Taliban.
It also comes after a major security shake-up in Kabul that has put veterans in the fight against the Taliban in charge of the police and military.
While there has been no official announcement of a US withdrawal, the suggestion that it is reducing its military presence has rattled the Afghan capital.
Gen Scott Miller, the top US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, said on Sunday that he had not received orders to pull troops out of the country.
Mr Trump’s decision apparently came yesterday as US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met the Taliban in Abu Dhabi, in a bid to bring the militants to peace talks with Kabul.
Many Afghans fear Mr Ghani’s unity government might collapse if US troops pull out, enabling the Taliban to sweep back into power, sparking another civil war.