Afghan forces show strength vs. Taliban
Series of attacks by militants in Kabul and in several provinces cause little damage except to their own ranks,
KABUL — The Taliban launched a series of attacks in the Afghan capital and at least three eastern provinces on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, government buildings and foreign embassies, but caused little damage except to its own ranks.
Suicide bombers and insurgents wielding heavy weapons and rocketpropelled grenades executed the nearsimultaneous attacks. The Taliban called the attacks an opening salvo ahead of the spring fighting season, when warmer weather typically brings increased attacks.
NATO authorities said the attacks were met with a strong response from Afghan police and soldiers. Seventeen Taliban attackers were killed; one police officer died, the Interior Ministry said.
U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said the coalition was standing by to support the Afghan forces, if needed.
“I consider it a testament to their skill and professionalism — of how far they’ve come — that they haven’t yet asked for that support,” Allen said.
Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the U.s.-led coalition, said in- surgents took up positions in Kabul mostly in unoccupied buildings outside of the heavily secured quarter that is home to military and diplomatic installations. He said the U.S., German and British embassies and some coalition and Afghan government buildings took fire.
Apart from the attacks in Kabul, the Taliban hit targets in the insurgentheavy provinces of Paktia, Nangarhar and Logar. Several civilians were reported injured in the attacks.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the attacks were a “message” to the Afghan and foreign forces, warning them the insurgents remain resilient.
“It was well-coordinated and planned for almost two months,” Mujahid told the Associated Press by phone.
The attack in Kabul began Sunday afternoon with more than a dozen explosions in the central neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts.
Insurgents fired in several directions from a building under construction near an intersection of roads that lead to the presidential palace, various ministry buildings and several Western embassies.
“I saw two Land Cruisers pull up and two militants jumped from the car,” said Mohammad Zakar, 27, a mechanic. “They opened fire on an intelligence service guard. . . . They also fired on . . . an Afghan policeman and then they jumped into the building.”
Heavy gunfire crackled through the streets for hours as smoke rose over the skyline and sirens wailed. A loudspeaker at the U.S. Embassy could be heard barking: “Move away from the windows.”
Mohammad Nahim Lalai Hamidzai, a lawmaker from Kandahar, said he climbed the tower of the parliament building and fired on the insurgents.
“I shot up to 400 or 500 bullets from my Kalashnikov at the attackers,” Hamidzai said. “They fired two rocketpropelled grenades at the parliament.”
Militants also attacked a NATO site on the outskirts of Kabul, where a joint Greek-turkish base came under heavy fire and forces responded with heavycaliber machine guns.
Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said four attackers were killed in that attack and one was arrested.