16 dead, 104 hurt in Kabul assaults
Taliban target Afghan security forces
KABUL, Afghanistan — Near-simultaneous Taliban suicide bombings and an hourslong shootout with Afghan security forces left at least 16 people dead and more than 100 wounded in Kabul on Wednesday.
The noontime attacks underscored the challenges the government continues to face as it grapples with the 15-year insurgency and struggles to improve security for ordinary Afghans.
In one of the two attacks, a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the gates of a sprawling police compound in western Kabul. The explosion preceded a gunbattle between security forces and several gunmen who stormed into the complex, said Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
Thick black smoke rose above the grounds, and several rounds of small-arms fire and subsequent explosions were heard from inside, according to Mohammad Naser, a shopkeeper who has a store nearby. Dozens of windows were shattered on surrounding houses and shops, he added.
The compound includes Kabul’s Sixth Police Station and is next to the country’s military school, where cadets were attending classes.
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 cleanup operation after the attack, he added.
Wahid Mujro, the public health ministry spokesman, said 15 people were killed in the police compound.
The second attack took place in eastern Kabul where a suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives outside the offices of the country’s intelligence service, killing one person.
Mujro said 104 people were wounded in both attacks.
In a message to the media, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for both attacks. It was not immediately clear how many gunmen were involved in the attack on the Kabul police complex.
President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning the attacks, saying “terrorists and their alien masters once again tried to create an atmosphere of terror and fear in Kabul.”
Ghani linked the attacks to the recent death of a senior Taliban commander, known as Mullah Salaam, in northeastern Kunduz province and said the insurgents are trying to attack urban centers to boost morale among their followers.
Meanwhile, the Taliban gained control Wednesday of government headquarters in a district in northern Baghlan province, after almost three days of intense battles with Afghan security forces, according to local officials.
Abdul Satar Barez, the provincial governor, said he could not confirm that the whole district of Tala Wa Barfak has fallen to the Taliban but said several checkpoints have fallen to the insurgents during clashes Wednesday.
A provincial security official said the security forces left their checkpoints and withdrew from the entire district, which is now in Taliban hands. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, tweeted that the group’s fighters overran the Tala Wa Barfak headquarters.
Afghanistan has been wracked by violence as the Taliban continue to press their offensive into the winter months, targeting mainly government forces and the Afghan military but with scores of civilians getting caught up in the deadly violence.