Twin Taliban suicide attacks in Kabul leave 16 people dead
KABUL: A pair of near-simultaneous Taliban suicide bombings struck Kabul on Wednesday, targeting a sprawling police compound and offices of the country’s intelligence agency and killing 16 people , officials said.
In the attack on the police compound, a suicide car bomber rammed his car into the gates of the complex, located in western Kabul. The explosion was followed by a gunbattle between police and several attackers who stormed the compound, said Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry.
Hours later, the gunbattle ended with all the attackers killed, said Sadiq Muradi of the Kabul police chief’s office. Security forces were carrying out a clean-up operation following the attack, he added.
Wahid Mujro, the public health ministry spokesman, said 15 people were killed in the police compound and 43 were wounded.
The second attack took place in eastern Kabul, when a suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives outside the offices of the intelligence service. One person was killed and another was wounded, Mujro said.
In a message to media, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for both attacks.
The Taliban also gained control of local government headquarters in Tala Wa Barfak district in the northern Baghlan province, after almost three days of intense battles with Afghan security forces, according to local officials.