Troops kill 3 militants on suicide mission
Source: Agencies |
October 17, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AFGHAN troops shot dead three would-be suicide bombers who tried to enter an office in an eastern city yesterday to attack government targets, officials said.
The heavily armed insurgents with explosives strapped to their chests were killed in a 10-minute gunfight with Afghan troops outside the mayor's office in Gardez, Paktia province, according to Rohullah Samon, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The insurgents arrived in a car laden with explosives, which were detonated during the battle. Samon said a government employee was killed in crossfire.
The bombers had planned to use the office as a staging post for attacks on the governor's compound and other key buildings in the city from an elevated position, he said.
Insurgents have previously chosen half-built high rises or poorly guarded buildings from which to attack government targets.
The most notable was the September 13 attack on -Kabul's diplomatic enclave, when five suicide fighters took over an abandoned building and showered the US embassy and the headquarters of NATO-led forces with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire for 20 hours.
Suicide and roadside bombings and high-profile, coordinated attacks are being used more frequently by the Taliban, with high numbers of casualties among Afghan security forces and civilians.
Foreign forces say such attacks are attempts to grab media attention and avoid heavy battlefield losses.
The attack in Gardez came a day after four suicide bombers targeted a compound housing an Afghan and US reconstruction team inside the fiercely anti-Taliban Panjshir valley, killing two civilians.
Violence is at its worst since US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001.
The heavily armed insurgents with explosives strapped to their chests were killed in a 10-minute gunfight with Afghan troops outside the mayor's office in Gardez, Paktia province, according to Rohullah Samon, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The insurgents arrived in a car laden with explosives, which were detonated during the battle. Samon said a government employee was killed in crossfire.
The bombers had planned to use the office as a staging post for attacks on the governor's compound and other key buildings in the city from an elevated position, he said.
Insurgents have previously chosen half-built high rises or poorly guarded buildings from which to attack government targets.
The most notable was the September 13 attack on -Kabul's diplomatic enclave, when five suicide fighters took over an abandoned building and showered the US embassy and the headquarters of NATO-led forces with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire for 20 hours.
Suicide and roadside bombings and high-profile, coordinated attacks are being used more frequently by the Taliban, with high numbers of casualties among Afghan security forces and civilians.
Foreign forces say such attacks are attempts to grab media attention and avoid heavy battlefield losses.
The attack in Gardez came a day after four suicide bombers targeted a compound housing an Afghan and US reconstruction team inside the fiercely anti-Taliban Panjshir valley, killing two civilians.
Violence is at its worst since US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001.
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