Gunmen invade Kabul TV station in deadly attack

GUNMEN disguised as policemen stormed a television station in Kabul yesterday, killing one person and wounding two dozen others in the latest deadly attack targeting journalists in Afghanistan.

The assault – claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group – lasted about three hours before Afghan special forces overpowered the attackers, who were armed with firearms and grenades, and freed staff trapped inside the building.

“According to the commander of the special forces, all the staff who were inside the building have been rescued,” Shamshad TV said as it went back on the air, in an act of defiance just moments later.

“This is an attack on the freedom of media, but they cannot silence us,” Shamshad news director Abid Ehsas said at a hospital in the Afghan capital where some of his colleagues were being treated.

The station reported that one attacker blew himself up at the gate.

Another went inside and shot at staff, before going up to the roof to fire at security forces.

A Shamshad news presenter, his hands bandaged after cutting them on glass as he fled, told viewers that 20 colleagues had been wounded. Six were in a critical condition. “We have all come back. All our journalists and colleagues are back on duty,” he said.

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said one employee had been killed and 24 people wounded, including four firefighters.

Special forces had to blast their way through a wall of the compound to enter the premises of the Pashto-language broadcaster.

Ehsas said: “I was in my office when gunmen wearing police uniforms attacked the building.

“They killed one of our guards and entered the building and started firing. Most of us were able to flee, but some were wounded and some jumped out of the windows.”

The station had not received any threats before the attack.

Gunshots could be heard inside the building every few minutes during the assault as more and more security forces and emergency services swarmed the area.

One employee said he had seen three attackers entering the building on security cameras.

“They first shot the guard and then entered the building,” TV reporter Faisal Zaland, who escaped through a back door, said.

“They started throwing grenades around and firing.”

In a tweet, the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee renewed its call for the government to take all preventative measures to protect the media – sentiments echoed by Amnesty International.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and pledged measures to protect journalists.

IS claimed responsibility for the assault through its Amaq propaganda agency.

The Taliban had earlier denied involvement via Twitter.

Pashto is one of the official languages in Afghanistan and is spoken mainly in the south, where the Taliban have a large presence.

Kabul has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks as the Taliban and IS group stepped up offensives against security installations and mosques.

The attack highlights the dangers faced by the media in Afghanistan as security worsens. – AFP