Taliban launches largest attack on Kabul in 11 years:
Government areas in Kabul and several other key locations in Afghanistan rocked by gunfire and explosions
Kabul and several other key locations in Afghanistan were rocked by gunfire and explosions on Sunday as the Taliban-led insurgency launched its largest coordinated attack in its 11-year struggle.
The onslaught began at 2pm local time, with gun and rocket attacks on high profile buildings in Kabul, including the British embassy and several other foreign missions, parliament and Afghan government ministries. Simultaneous strikes were launched in the nearby provinces of Logar and Paktia, and on the airport in the eastern trading city of Jalalabad. Five hours later, as dusk fell in the capital, gun battles were still raging. A Taliban claim to have attacked President Hamid Karzai's palace could not be immediately confirmed.
The attacks in Kabul resembled the audacious assault in September last year when gunmen stormed an abandoned, half-built tower from where they fired rockets on to the US Embassy, prompting a 20-hour siege by Afghan special forces.
Only this time the scale of the attack in the capital alone was even greater. At least seven sites across the heavily guarded city were attacked, raising worrying questions about the Taliban's continued potency despite intense US efforts to degrade them on the battlefield.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the attacks proved the movement's strength. "The puppet government and its foreign backers claimed the Taliban would not be able to launch a spring offensive, but today's attacks were the start of our spring offensive."
In the south-west of the city gunmen managed to climb a five-storey building site from where they fired on the Afghan parliament, the Commerce Ministry and the Russian Embassy.
Some members of parliament, which is full of battle hardened former mujahideen commanders who fought a guerrilla campaign against Soviet occupying forces in the 1980s, grabbed weapons and joined parliamentary guards to try to repel the attack.
Pamir Patang, chief of staff at the neighbouring Commerce Ministry, said one of the fortified guard positions at the corner of the large ministerial compound was destroyed by a rocket propelled grenade.
"There appears to be quite a number of attackers who are well positioned inside the building and they are targeting us from there," he said. "They used to just target the Afghan security agencies but now they seem to be deliberately targeting the country's economic institutions as well."
He said various foreign advisers working for the British company Adam Smith International were still stuck inside the sprawling compound and would probably not leave until the area had been secured.
Patang also said that the military attaché at the nearby Russian Embassy had reported that Russian soldiers inside the compound returned fire on the multi-storey building site from which they were being attacked, in what could be the first time Russians have been engaged in combat in Afghanistan since 1989.
A high profile Afghan MP, Wazhma Frogh, who was caught up in the attacks near the British Embassy gave a scathing verdict of the response of police.
"I was nearly shot in the back as I was walking down the street, not by a terrorist but by the Afghan police who were just shooting at everything," she said. "They had no idea where they were firing."
She said the attacks cast doubt on Nato's "transition" plan that aims to hand over full responsibility for security to the Afghan government by the end of 2014,
"This shows just how ridiculous the transition policy is. I've never seen a street battle before, but what I saw today was the fragility of these police officers. It really shows how poor police training has been.
"At the same time the insurgency has been so smart," she added. "They have become so sophisticated and well trained. They can attack major buildings if they want and our intelligence agencies have no idea."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack soon after it began, with a spokesman claiming "a lot of suicide bombers" were involved.
In the past such elaborate attacks on the Afghan capital have been blamed on the Haqqani network, a group allied to the Taliban with a proven ability to mount complex, headline grabbing operations.
Even as attacks continued Afghan analysts pointed the finger of blame at Pakistan's military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) which has been linked to previous Haqqani attacks.
Patang said it was too early to say with any certainty whether the ISI was to blame. "However, what we can for say sure is that so many simultaneous attacks in different places around the country can only be sponsored violence.
"This is an insurgency that can only be supported by a professional intelligence agency."
Pakistan's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Kar expressed her country's "deep concern" at reports of the attacks in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in all forms and has consistently encouraged dialogue to resolve issues in Afghanistan," she said.
Directly to the south of Kabul, in Logar province, a group of suicide bombers managed to enter the offices of the provincial governor and the police chief.
In the east two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Jalalabad's airport, wounding several people. And in Gardez, in the eastern province of Paktia, several gunmen attacked a police training centre.
As the Afghan capital erupted in gunfire the streets of Shar-e-Naw, the central shopping district, emptied as shop owners closed down and went home.
However, many Kabul residents have become remarkably desensitised to outbreaks of violence.
"All the internationals got up and left, but the Afghans just stayed to finish their meals," said businessman Khaleeq Ahmad who was having lunch on the top floor restaurant of one Kabul's most exclusive hotels when gunfire broke out all around the city.
"Afghans are pretty resilient. They have seen so many things they just don't care," he said.
Nonetheless, he said many Kabul residents will be shocked by the scale of violence after a lull in Taliban activity of seven months, which by Kabul standards is "a long time".
"Of course it will kind of scare people for a while," he said. "But everyone has kind of got used to it. It doesn't stop their daily lives."
Kabul and several other key locations in Afghanistan were rocked by gunfire and explosions on Sunday as the Taliban-led insurgency launched its largest coordinated attack in its 11-year struggle.
The onslaught began at 2pm local time, with gun and rocket attacks on high profile buildings in Kabul, including the British embassy and several other foreign missions, parliament and Afghan government ministries. Simultaneous strikes were launched in the nearby provinces of Logar and Paktia, and on the airport in the eastern trading city of Jalalabad. Five hours later, as dusk fell in the capital, gun battles were still raging. A Taliban claim to have attacked President Hamid Karzai's palace could not be immediately confirmed.
The attacks in Kabul resembled the audacious assault in September last year when gunmen stormed an abandoned, half-built tower from where they fired rockets on to the US Embassy, prompting a 20-hour siege by Afghan special forces.
Only this time the scale of the attack in the capital alone was even greater. At least seven sites across the heavily guarded city were attacked, raising worrying questions about the Taliban's continued potency despite intense US efforts to degrade them on the battlefield.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the attacks proved the movement's strength. "The puppet government and its foreign backers claimed the Taliban would not be able to launch a spring offensive, but today's attacks were the start of our spring offensive."
In the south-west of the city gunmen managed to climb a five-storey building site from where they fired on the Afghan parliament, the Commerce Ministry and the Russian Embassy.
Some members of parliament, which is full of battle hardened former mujahideen commanders who fought a guerrilla campaign against Soviet occupying forces in the 1980s, grabbed weapons and joined parliamentary guards to try to repel the attack.
Pamir Patang, chief of staff at the neighbouring Commerce Ministry, said one of the fortified guard positions at the corner of the large ministerial compound was destroyed by a rocket propelled grenade.
"There appears to be quite a number of attackers who are well positioned inside the building and they are targeting us from there," he said. "They used to just target the Afghan security agencies but now they seem to be deliberately targeting the country's economic institutions as well."
He said various foreign advisers working for the British company Adam Smith International were still stuck inside the sprawling compound and would probably not leave until the area had been secured.
Patang also said that the military attaché at the nearby Russian Embassy had reported that Russian soldiers inside the compound returned fire on the multi-storey building site from which they were being attacked, in what could be the first time Russians have been engaged in combat in Afghanistan since 1989.
A high profile Afghan MP, Wazhma Frogh, who was caught up in the attacks near the British Embassy gave a scathing verdict of the response of police.
"I was nearly shot in the back as I was walking down the street, not by a terrorist but by the Afghan police who were just shooting at everything," she said. "They had no idea where they were firing."
She said the attacks cast doubt on Nato's "transition" plan that aims to hand over full responsibility for security to the Afghan government by the end of 2014,
"This shows just how ridiculous the transition policy is. I've never seen a street battle before, but what I saw today was the fragility of these police officers. It really shows how poor police training has been.
"At the same time the insurgency has been so smart," she added. "They have become so sophisticated and well trained. They can attack major buildings if they want and our intelligence agencies have no idea."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack soon after it began, with a spokesman claiming "a lot of suicide bombers" were involved.
In the past such elaborate attacks on the Afghan capital have been blamed on the Haqqani network, a group allied to the Taliban with a proven ability to mount complex, headline grabbing operations.
Even as attacks continued Afghan analysts pointed the finger of blame at Pakistan's military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) which has been linked to previous Haqqani attacks.
Patang said it was too early to say with any certainty whether the ISI was to blame. "However, what we can for say sure is that so many simultaneous attacks in different places around the country can only be sponsored violence.
"This is an insurgency that can only be supported by a professional intelligence agency."
Pakistan's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Kar expressed her country's "deep concern" at reports of the attacks in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in all forms and has consistently encouraged dialogue to resolve issues in Afghanistan," she said.
Directly to the south of Kabul, in Logar province, a group of suicide bombers managed to enter the offices of the provincial governor and the police chief.
In the east two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Jalalabad's airport, wounding several people. And in Gardez, in the eastern province of Paktia, several gunmen attacked a police training centre.
As the Afghan capital erupted in gunfire the streets of Shar-e-Naw, the central shopping district, emptied as shop owners closed down and went home.
However, many Kabul residents have become remarkably desensitised to outbreaks of violence.
"All the internationals got up and left, but the Afghans just stayed to finish their meals," said businessman Khaleeq Ahmad who was having lunch on the top floor restaurant of one Kabul's most exclusive hotels when gunfire broke out all around the city.
"Afghans are pretty resilient. They have seen so many things they just don't care," he said.
Nonetheless, he said many Kabul residents will be shocked by the scale of violence after a lull in Taliban activity of seven months, which by Kabul standards is "a long time".
"Of course it will kind of scare people for a while," he said. "But everyone has kind of got used to it. It doesn't stop their daily lives."
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