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Taleban 'storm' government office | |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Taleban fighters have seized local government offices in Afghanistan's south-eastern province of Zabul. | |
A local spokesman said police in Khan Afghan district had withdrawn because they did not have enough ammunition. | |
Meanwhile, in Helmand province the Taleban are reported to have been forced out of the town of Sangin by Nato and Afghan troops. | |
President Hamid Karzai says his government has been having meetings with the Taleban for "a long time". | |
In fresh violence on Friday, a suicide bomber has killed six people near parliament in the capital, Kabul. | |
Serious damage | |
The Taleban have been forced out of the town of Sangin in Helmand province, the governor of Helmand told the BBC. | |
Nato said it airlifted hundred of troops into the area earlier this week as part of Operation Achilles, aimed at "our long-term goal of providing the security conditions necessary to allow the government of Afghanistan to begin reconstruction and development in the area". | |
It says it has inflicted serious damage to the Taleban's infrastructure in the area. | |
Meanwhile, in the capital Kabul, President Karzai told journalists that the number of people killed in a suicide attack on Friday near parliament had risen. | |
"Six of our countrymen were martyred in this incident," he said. They include at least one policeman. | |
The bomber blew himself up in his car when approached by police, officers at the scene were quoted as saying. | |
The Associated Press news agency quoted a witness, Samiullah Ahmad Rahim, as saying that he heard a big explosion and saw a large fireball shortly after the blast. | The Associated Press news agency quoted a witness, Samiullah Ahmad Rahim, as saying that he heard a big explosion and saw a large fireball shortly after the blast. |
Reports said the debris from the blast littered the road. Window panes from a nearby building shattered. | Reports said the debris from the blast littered the road. Window panes from a nearby building shattered. |
The aftermath of Friday's Kabul suicide attack | |
There has been no claim of responsibility for Friday's attack. But the Taleban says it has hundreds of fighters prepared to carry out suicide attacks. | |
Last week four people died in a blast near Kabul's main market during the morning rush hour, in one of a series of attacks in recent weeks. | |
In his comments to the press, Mr Karzai also said official contacts with the Taleban were well established. | |
"We have had representatives from the Taleban meeting with different bodies of Afghan government for a long time. | |
"I have had some Taleban coming to speak to me as well." | |
Last year saw the worst fighting in Afghanistan since coalition troops ousted the Islamist Taleban from power in 2001. | Last year saw the worst fighting in Afghanistan since coalition troops ousted the Islamist Taleban from power in 2001. |