KABUL: Anhours-long gun and bomb attack on a Kabul government compound killed at least43 people, officials said yesterday, making it one of the deadliest assaults onthe Afghan capital this year. No militant group has claimed responsibility forthe raid, which caps a bloody year for Afghanistan as long-suffering civiliansand security forces are slaughtered in record numbers. Taleban spokesmanZabiullah Mujahid told AFP the attack had "nothing to do with themilitants". Another 27 people were wounded in Monday's massacre on a sitewhere the Ministry of Public Works and an office that handles pensions andbenefits for war veterans are located, health ministry spokesman Waheed Majrohsaid.
Gunmen stormedthe compound mid-afternoon after detonating two car bombs at the main entrance,which is opposite residential apartment blocks. As they entered two buildingsbelonging to the Ministry of Public Works and the organization responsible forsupporting war veterans and their families, terrified workers ran for theirlives. Some jumped from windows several floors up to escape the militants. Theblasts may have been decoys, according to witnesses who told AFP they sawseveral militants enter the compound through a back gate.
Hundreds weretrapped inside for hours as heavily armed security forces swarmed the area,engaging the attackers in a fierce gun battle punctuated by multipleexplosions. Public works ministry employee Amdullah Barekzai hid under his deskfor five hours, listening to gunfire and blasts inside his building. "Whenthe security forces took us from the office, I saw many bodies covered inblood, lying in the corridors," Barekzai said. At least four militantswere killed and more than 350 people freed, officials said. Most of the deadand wounded were civilians, who have borne the brunt of the 17-year war."It was a barbaric attack against humanity," interior ministryspokesman Najib Danish told reporters.
Taleban blamed
It was the deadliestassault in the Afghan capital since a suicide bomber blew himself up in themiddle of a religious gathering last month, killing at least 55 people.President Ashraf Ghani, whose government has been skewered over its securityfailures, said "terrorists attack civilian targets to hide their defeat onthe battleground". Afghanistan's de facto prime minister Abdullah Abdullahalso sounded a defiant note as he blamed the Taleban for the attack.
"Everyattack they carry out against our people, our resolve is further strengthenedto eliminate them," he said. But their statements belie the grim realityon the battlefield where the Taleban have the upper hand. Afghanistan's largest militant group has madesignificant territorial gains this year as its fighters inflict recordcasualties on government forces.
US staying thecourse?
The raid followeda tumultuous few days in Afghanistan where officials are reeling from USPresident Donald Trump's plan to slash troop numbers, which many fear couldharm efforts to end the conflict with the Taleban. It also comes after a majorsecurity shake-up in Kabul that has placed staunch anti-Taleban and -Pakistanveterans in charge of the police and military. While there has been no officialannouncement of a US drawdown, the mere suggestion of the United Statesreducing its military presence has rattled the Afghan capital and potentiallyundermined peace efforts.
General ScottMiller, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said Sunday he had notreceived orders to pull forces out of the country. Trump's decision apparentlycame yesterday as US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with the Taleban in AbuDhabi, part of efforts to bring the militants to the negotiating table withKabul. Many Afghans are worried that Ghani's fragile unity government wouldcollapse if US troops pulled out, enabling the Taleban to sweep back into powerand potentially sparking another bloody civil war. - AFP