KABUL, Afghanistan — In the most direct assault since the American embassy opened here nine years ago, heavily armed insurgents wearing suicide vests put the embassy and the nearby NATO headquarters in their crosshairs, showing the Taliban’s ability to enter even the most heavily fortified districts in the country.
At least six people were killed including four policemen, according to the Kabul Provincial Police and the Ministry of the Interior. There were also 19 people wounded including four Afghans who were struck at the American Embassy. Late in the evening the Interior ministry was still counting the number of dead insurgents, but it appeared that at least seven had entered the city and five had taken positions in a 14-story building that was under construction and had clear sight lines to its targets.
The assault from the building was all the more dismaying because it suggested the involvement of many people who would have allowed heavily armed men to enter the city and get through the cordon that surrounds the capital’s center.
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And today's incident followed Sunday's attacks that added to the US casualties.
KABUL — American claims to have reversed the insurgents’ momentum in Afghanistan rang hollow Sunday, as military hospitals were overrun with record numbers of casualties from a spate of Taliban attacks.
At least five people were killed and 108 injured in separate attacks on Saturday, making it one of the bloodiest days for U.S. forces in the decade-long war. The worst toll was in Wardak, about 80 kilometres southwest of Kabul, where a truck bomb outside an American base left two people dead and 101 others wounded, including 77 American soldiers and two U.S. civilians.
“Two hours after the attack in Wardak, five rockets came down on Bagram Airfield, the main American base in Afghanistan, north of Kabul. At least two Afghan security guards were killed, and seven others injured, including three American soldiers, a western official said. A commemorative run around the airfield — 9.11 miles to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11 — was cancelled amid fears of further bombardment
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Good thing we have increased our presence in Afghanistan.
