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Kabul police officers killed in Taliban suicide attack Kabul police officers killed in Taliban suicide attack
(about 5 hours later)
At least three officers have been killed after Taliban insurgents stormed the traffic police headquarters in Kabul, barricaded themselves inside for several hours and fired rockets at Afghan and Nato forces. Five suicide bombers stormed Kabul's lightly guarded traffic police headquarters and then bunkered down inside for a nine-hour gun and rocket battle that killed three officers, the second major attack in the heart of the Afghan capital in less than a week.
An interior ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqi, said the battle lasted more than nine hours. At least five insurgents were killed and four traffic police officers were also wounded in the fighting. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both suicide missions, marking a bloody start to 2013 and underlining the insurgency's resources at a time when Nato troops are heading home, and the Afghan and US governments pushing hard for peace talks.
In the early hours of the morning some six militiamen drove up to the building in an old Toyota estate, shot dead a security guard and all but one rushed inside, said a police source stationed near the headquarters. The insurgent who remained outside detonated explosives packed inside his vehicle as the others took up positions. Within minutes they had fired a rocket at a nearby compound of the civil order police. Monday's assault began in the freezing pre-dawn darkness, when a group of attackers pulled up to the building in an old Toyota estate car, detonated at least one explosive vest, shot a security guard and rushed inside, security officials said. Within minutes they had fired a rocket at another nearby police compound, although it fell short and hit a mosque, and were exchanging fire with security forces who rushed to the scene.
"It fell short and hit a mosque, but the room was empty so there were no casualties," said the officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, as bursts of gunfire echoed off the surrounding hills. Around an hour later a massive explosion from a car bomb echoed around the city, waking many in Kabul to the grim news of another suicide assault, this time near the city's zoo, parliament, several embassies and a major mosque and religious university.
The suicide attack marks the second time militants have struck the heart of the Afghan capital in less than a week. The assault came less than a week after attackers tried to blast their way into a intelligence compound, although they were all killed within a few minutes, and failed to get inside the heavily guarded headquarters. By contrast the traffic police are not always armed and if they do have a gun it is usually just a pistol, issued to help protect them from the road rage of the city's often intense and reckless drivers, rather than for doing battle with suicidal insurgents.
Nearby Norwegian special forces fired what Afghan police described as "heavy rockets" at the traffic compound, where the top floor was ablaze. Afghan security forces were seen racing across a roof but the attackers stayed hidden. "Only a few guards at the compound had AK-47s," said Sayed Zahir, a 52 year-old who lives near the traffic headquarters and passes it most days. The building is usually milling with people trying to get driving licenses, register their cars or challenge fines, but the attack began so early that it was virtually deserted, and no civilians were killed. Nine were injured, police said.
A second large car bomb had exploded about half an hour after the attack began, waking many in Kabul to the grim news of yet another suicide assault. The incident comes less than a week after insurgents tried to blast their way into a intelligence compound a few kilometres away. The building caught fire after several hours, creating fears that the city's register of cars and driving licenses would be lost. The battle dragged into the afternoon as two or three insurgents, snacking on cakes and energy drinks, managed to hold off Afghan and Nato troops, although two never used their final weapon.
Those attackers were killed within a few minutes as the country's spy service was heavily guarded. In contrast, traffic police are not always armed. On the rare occasions officers carry a weapon it is usually a pistol issued to help them tackle road rage incidents perpetrated by the city's often reckless drivers. "Two were shot before they could detonate their explosives," said the city's police chief General Ayub Salangi. The car bomb, which was heard on the other side of the city, and shattered windows far down the road, was probably rigged to a timer.
"Only a few guards at the compound had AK-47s," said Sayed Zahir, a 52-year-old who lives a few streets from the traffic headquarters and passes it most days. The building is usually busy, with people collecting driving licences, registering their cars or challenging fines, but the insurgents arrived so early the headquarters was almost deserted. No civilian casualties were reported. During hours of fighting Afghan forces closed in on the building, scurrying across the roof as smoke billowed out, while helicopters hovered overhead and Norwegian special forces showered down rockets from a half-built house overlooking the occupied compound.
Afghan security forces attempted to protect onlookers and passersby with a tight cordon around the headquarters. The building is near the Kabul parliament and the city zoo; the Russian embassy, several other diplomatic outposts, as well as a large mosque and religious university, are nearby. Afghan security forces also kept curious onlookers from harm with a tight cordon around the site of the attack, even in the unpaved lanes of frozen mud in the hills above the tarmacked main roads, where huddles of boys gathered to try and catch glimpses of the attack.
"We are blocking the way for civilians, and providing security for our headquarters," said Second Lieutenant Fizilan Fizi of the Afghan Civil Order police, as young boys clustered in alleys to catch a glimpse of the fighting. Outside the traffic police headquarters bullets flew over an unintentional reminder of Afghanistan's troubled search for peace, a monument to a general who fought rebels in eastern provinces – now a stronghold for Taliban-linked groups – for the government of his day nearly a century ago.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said they had been targeting a nearby compound of foreign police advisers, although their base is several kilometres away. "Our main target was the place where foreign police trainers stay," the group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujiahid said. The second car bomb was intended to kill police and soldiers who went to the scene, he added. The Taliban said they were targeting a nearby compound of foreign police advisers, although that base is several kilometres away. "Our main target was the place where foreign police trainers stay," spokesman Zabihullah Mujiahid said by phone, adding that the second car bomb was intended to kill police and soldiers who first rushed to the scene.
Additional reporting by Mokhtar AmiriAdditional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri