Friday, September 5, 2014

Meanwhile in Afghanistan: Insurgents Kills 33, Wounds 147

9/5/2014


KABUL – Thirty-three people were killed and 147 others wounded in a pre-dawn attack Thursday by Taliban militants on a government compound in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said.

Fighting erupted when the Islamist attackers detonated two vehicles loaded with explosives in the city of Ghazni, capital of the like-named province, the Afghan Interior ministry said in a statement.

Deputy Gov. Mohammad Ahmadi told Efe that the assailants targeted Afghan intelligence headquarters in the three-hour firefight with security forces.

The dead included 10 police officers and all 21 members of the Taliban unit that took part in the assault, while 130 of those wounded in the firefight were civilians and 17 were police officers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a Twitter post.

Suicide attacks, along with roadside bombs, are the methods most used by the Taliban to attack Afghan and international forces, although numerous civilians figure among the victims.

Afghanistan is going through one of its bloodiest periods since Afghan forces began taking over responsibility for security last year to gradually replace the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, which is to end its mission by the end of 2014.

The Central Asian nation is still in the election process, counting the presidential votes after fraud allegations and a recount that has delayed the naming of the winner.

Despite the withdrawal of the NATO contingent, the United States has announced that it plans to keep 9,800 soldiers in the country until the end of 2016.


source

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