Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rebel rockets pause president’s speech; Afghans strike back
KABUL, Afghanistan — Rockets were fired Tuesday toward the presidential palace in Kabul as the Afghan president was delivering his holiday message for the Muslim celebrations of Eid al-Adha, police said, prompting an aerial response, with helicopter gunships bombing the house from where the rockets were reportedly launched.
Police initially blamed the Taliban, but an Islamic State affiliate later issued a brief statement saying it had fired mortar shells at the presidential palace. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.
The attack comes as Russia announced that Taliban representatives will attend talks in Moscow on Sept. 4.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow invited the Taliban to the talks and was hoping for “productive” negotiations. “The first reaction was positive, they are planning to take part in the meeting,” he said.
A senior Taliban official confirmed they would send a delegation to Russia “for the sake of finding peace in Afghanistan.” The official said the group plans to send representatives to other countries in the region, including Pakistan and China, “to take them into confidence and address their concerns.”
“We are in contact with all neighbors,” the official said, adding that the Taliban routinely hold meetings with European officials at the group’s political office in the Gulf state of Qatar. The Taliban official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
In Tuesday’s attack, the first rocket landed somewhere near the presidency building, while the second hit near a NATO compound and the U.S. Embassy, but no one was hurt, said police official Jan Agha.
The boom of the rockets was heard in the live broadcast of President Ashraf Ghani’s speech. Ghani interrupted his message to say: “If they are thinking the rocket attack will keep Afghans down, they are wrong.”
The area where the rockets hit is one of the most secure in the Afghan capital, where embassies and government buildings are surrounded by high cement blast walls and coils of razor wire. Many streets near the U.S. Embassy are closed off, as well as those near sensitive government and military installations.
Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said Afghan police had noticed a suspicious vehicle earlier Tuesday and followed it to a mud-brick house near the sprawling Eid Gah mosque, where hundreds had gathered to pray during the Eid al-Adha holiday. Stanekzai said the militants are believed to have fired the rockets from the house.
A helicopter gunship was called in and bombed the location, destroying the house and the vehicle.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said that after the explosions, sporadic shooting could be heard from the area, though it wasn’t clear who was firing. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety.
Another police official, Mohammed Akram, said four attackers were apparently involved, though it was unclear whether any survived the helicopter assault on the house.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish later said all the attackers were killed.