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Taliban hit Afghan government office
Source: Agencies |
April 2, 2009, Thursday
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THREE Taliban suicide bombers disguised in army uniforms stormed a government office in southern Afghanistan yesterday after a fourth detonated a car bomb, officials said. At least 17 people - including the four assailants - died. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
The coordinated assault in Kandahar underscored a new tactic by Afghan militants to launch multidirectional attacks against government offices.
It mirrored a February attack in Kabul, where militants assaulted three government buildings simultaneously, killing 20.
Yesterday's attack on Kandahar's provincial council office killed seven civilians and six police officers, President Hamid Karzai's office said. Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the council and President Karzai's brother, said the attack came during a meeting of tribal leaders. He said 17 people were wounded.
Among those killed were the province's education director and its deputy health director, Ahmad Wali Karzai, said. The president's brother also said he left the council office about five minutes before the attack and was not harmed.
The assault comes amid a burst of violence in Afghanistan, where some 60 militants have died in battles in the past three days. United States President Barack Obama - who is deploying an additional 21,000 US forces to bolster the record 38,000 already in the country - has said the US will increase its focus on the "increasingly perilous" situation in Afghanistan.
The attack began just before noon, when a suicide bomber in a vehicle full of explosives blew himself up at the gates of the council office, opening the way for three other attackers in Afghan army uniforms to storm the building, said Ahmad Wali Karzai.
After the car bomb exploded, three militants wearing suicide vests and carrying assault rifles entered the compound, said Zemeri Bashary, the Interior Ministry's spokesman. Police killed two of the attackers and the third one blew himself up, Bashary said.
Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the assault.
Ahmad Wali Karzai said the Taliban is increasingly targeting tribal leaders in their attacks, a tactic militants are also using in Pakistan, he said.
"They are attacking the people who want democracy," he said.
The coordinated assault in Kandahar underscored a new tactic by Afghan militants to launch multidirectional attacks against government offices.
It mirrored a February attack in Kabul, where militants assaulted three government buildings simultaneously, killing 20.
Yesterday's attack on Kandahar's provincial council office killed seven civilians and six police officers, President Hamid Karzai's office said. Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the council and President Karzai's brother, said the attack came during a meeting of tribal leaders. He said 17 people were wounded.
Among those killed were the province's education director and its deputy health director, Ahmad Wali Karzai, said. The president's brother also said he left the council office about five minutes before the attack and was not harmed.
The assault comes amid a burst of violence in Afghanistan, where some 60 militants have died in battles in the past three days. United States President Barack Obama - who is deploying an additional 21,000 US forces to bolster the record 38,000 already in the country - has said the US will increase its focus on the "increasingly perilous" situation in Afghanistan.
The attack began just before noon, when a suicide bomber in a vehicle full of explosives blew himself up at the gates of the council office, opening the way for three other attackers in Afghan army uniforms to storm the building, said Ahmad Wali Karzai.
After the car bomb exploded, three militants wearing suicide vests and carrying assault rifles entered the compound, said Zemeri Bashary, the Interior Ministry's spokesman. Police killed two of the attackers and the third one blew himself up, Bashary said.
Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the assault.
Ahmad Wali Karzai said the Taliban is increasingly targeting tribal leaders in their attacks, a tactic militants are also using in Pakistan, he said.
"They are attacking the people who want democracy," he said.
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