Suicide bomber leads IS gun attack on Iraq embassy in Kabul
● Afghan security forces claim all four attackers killed in pitched battle
The Islamic State (IS) group targeted the Iraqi embassy in Kabul yesterday, with a suicide bomber blowing himself up outside the gates, followed by three gunmen who stormed into the building.
The assault set off a fourhour 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 bodies of at least two policemen lying on the road outside the embassy soon after the attack began.
In its claim of responsibility, IS – which has suffered massive losses in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks – said its fighters had killed seven guards but the militant group often exaggergate, ates its claims. Also, IS 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 that all embassy staff were safe but that the building had suffered extensive damage with windows broken and several rooms badly burned.
In Baghdad, a foreign ministry spokesman, Ahmad Jamal ,condemned the assault as a “terrorist attack”.
The attack began with a big explosion that rocked central Kabul shortly before noon, followed by gunfire that lasted for several hours, and two or three more subsequent large explosions.
Police quickly cordoned off the area, barring reporters from coming too close to the scene.
The Afghan interior ministry said a suicide bomber first started the attack, blowing himself up at the embassy after which three attackers stormed inside. Earlier, Afghan officials had said a car bomb started the assault. Later on, it became clear the suicide bomber was on foot and not driving a car.
The ministry statement said Afghan security forces quickly deployed to the scene, rescuing all the embassy diplomats and employees and taking them to safety.
While the attack was still under way, the IS affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility in a statement carried by the Is-linked Aamaq news agency.
A police officer in the area, who identified himself only as Abdullah, said the gunfire was initially intense but later became more sporadic. The area was surrounded by armoured vehicles and a large contingent of police and Afghan soldiers.
At least one eyewitness, a store owner identified as Hafizullah – many Afghans use only one name – said he saw the bodies of two policemen on the ground before armoured personnel carriers and police arrived to cordon off the area.
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. She said she works at the nearby office of Afghanistan’s National Airline Ariana.
The Iraq embassy is located in a part of the city known as Shahr-e-now, which lies outside the so-called “green zone” where most foreign embassies and diplomatic missions are located.
After Iraqi forces, backed by a Us-led coalition, recaptured the city of Mosul from IS earlier in July, the Iraq embassy had called reporters to its offices in Kabul to express concerns that the local IS affiliate might stage large-scale attacks elsewhere to draw away attention from the militant group’s losses in Iraq.