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5 Police Officers Killed in Bomb Attack in Afghanistan | 5 Police Officers Killed in Bomb Attack in Afghanistan |
(about 1 hour later) | |
KABUL, Afghanistan — Eight suicide bombers stormed the headquarters of a special unit of the Afghan police in the eastern city of Jalalabad Tuesday morning, killing five officers and wounding four in the attack. | |
The assault began around 5 a.m., when a car bomb exploded near the entry gate of the compound, said Maj. Gen. Mohammed Sharif Khan, the police chief of Nangarhar Province. The blast was followed by another car bomb, detonated just inside the gate, clearing the way for the insurgents to enter with suicide vests and weapons. | |
Three of those bombers succeeded in blowing themselves up inside the compound. The remaining three were shot down before they could detonate their charges, General Sharif Khan said. Five civilians were also wounded in the assault, which ended shortly after 7 a.m. It was unclear if any forces from the American-led coalition were present on the base at the time. | |
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the police attack, which came during the second day of Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Afghanistan. | The Taliban claimed responsibility for the police attack, which came during the second day of Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Afghanistan. |
In a separate incident Tuesday morning, a vehicle bomb exploded near the entrance of a joint by Afghan and coalition base in Jalalabad, coalition officials said. The attack did not result in any coalition injuries. Afghan officials said they were unaware of the bombing. | |
Insurgents last mounted a large coordinated attack in Jalalabad in December, when they attempted to strike a major coalition base there. The attack was repelled and no coalition forces died in the assault. | Insurgents last mounted a large coordinated attack in Jalalabad in December, when they attempted to strike a major coalition base there. The attack was repelled and no coalition forces died in the assault. |
In Helmand Province, a suicide bomber on Monday detonated a large truck bomb in the provincial capital, Nad Ali, injuring more than 14 coalition soldiers, four of them seriously. The attack, which occurred around 6 p.m., caused a wall in the base to collapse but did not claim any lives, according to coalition officials. | |
Sangar Rahimi | Sangar Rahimi contributed reporting from Kabul, and Khalid Alokozay from Jalalabad, Afghanistan. |