Taliban attack presidential compound
Well-planned daylight assault in security zone
KABUL • Taliban gunmen stormed the presidential compound Tuesday af ter bluffing their way past two checkpoints, triggering a gun battle that left eight attackers and three guards dead and sent journalists attending an official event scrambling for cover.
The well-planned daylight assault in a highly fortified zone of the capital was a bold challenge to Kabul’s authority just a week after the Taliban opened a political office in Qatar and said it was willing to begin a u.S.-led peace process.
The gun battle started at about 6:30 a.m. near the east gate leading to the palace next to the Afghan Ministry of defence and the former Ariana Hotel, which former u.S. intelligence officials have confirmed is used by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Taliban fighters dressed in military-style camouflage uniforms emerged from their black Land Cruiser and started shooting, after a second vehicle got stuck between two checkpoints and its occupants detonated its explosives.
The attack was a bitter reminder of the Taliban’s ability to penetrate the heart of the capital, showing the group’s strength in the fight against President Hamid Karzai’s Western-backed government.
Though the Taliban has indicated it is willing to open peace talks, it has not renounced violence and attacks have continued across Afghanistan.
The palace is in a large fortified area of downtown Kabul that includes the u.S. embassy and the headquarters of the NATO-led coalition forces. Access is heavily restricted.
Some Kabul residents initially thought the gunfire was a coup attempt because the idea of a Taliban attack inside the security zone seemed so unlikely.
The attackers were stopped in Ariana Square, at least 500 metres and several checkpoints away from the palace itself. Mr. Karzai was reportedly in the palace at the time.
A group of journalists, including from The Associated Press, waiting to enter the palace grounds for a news event on Afghan youth witnessed the start of the attack and took cover behind a religious shrine, pulling a boy off the street who had been caught in the open on his way to school.
Smoke could be seen coming from the area of the hotel, but there was no immediate indication any of the buildings were hit in the attack.
Mr. Karzai had been expected to talk about continuing efforts to open peace talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban has refused to negotiate with Mr. Karzai’s government in the past, saying the u.S. holds effective control in Afghanistan, but the Americans are hoping to pave the way for talks between the two sides.
Long-stalled negotiations have taken on urgency with Afghan presidential elections and the withdrawal of most u.S. and other foreign combat troops looming in 2014.
The Americans announced last week they would begin formal talks with the Taliban in the Qatari capital of doha, which would be followed by talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Speaking after the attack, Kabul police chief General Mohamad Ayub Salangi said the gunmen jumped out of their SuV and opened fire after the second vehicle was stopped by security forces while trying to use fake documents to get through a checkpoint. The second vehicle’s car bomb then exploded.