Suspected Taliban militants have launched an attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, setting off explosions and sparking a gun battle. A statement on a Taliban website said the raid had targeted government buildings and the hotel. Turbans rampaging and exploding through downtown Kabul and they're "suspected Taliban." Maybe that's accurate. They could be al-Qaeda Arabs and Paks, or Hek's Hizbies, who aren't technically "Taliban."
| On the other hand, the BBC journalist is reporting an announcement on a Taliban website. That could be an indicator of... something. |
"All is well! We'll be investigating anybody we think was bumped off by foreigners!"
The Taliban said 20 of its fighters were involved. Two civilians and three security personnel have been killed plus 71 others wounded, officials say. Seven attackers had also been killed, Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said.
How about the other 13?
It is the latest in a series of increasingly brazen attacks on Kabul.
'Under control'
A spokesman for the interior ministry told the BBC it believed seven suicide attackers were involved.
And there are seven enemy deaders. Wotta coincidence.
Four attacked a shopping centre near the Serena Hotel and presidential palace. All were now dead and fighting there had ceased, the spokesman said.
Meaning the other 13 got away...
Three militants attacked a cinema about 400m away and two were killed there. At least two explosions were reported earlier.
Sounds like a fiasco...
A statement from the president's office said: "The Afghan president wants to assure the inhabitants of Kabul that the security situation is under control and order has once again been restored."
"Until the next bus arrives from North Wazoo, anyway..."
It added: "The president condemns these terrorist attacks and has instructed the security entities to intensify security in the city and take action to arrest those responsible for these brutal and unpatriotic attacks."
"Condemns" them, does he? Guess that's better than praising them or ignoring them...
| Because the security entities wouldn't think of arresting or increasing security had the president not barked such orders at them. Straight out of the leadership manual. |
Sure hope there are lots of paddy wagons whizzing by, full of wailing turbans...
He said although the city appeared quiet, the discrepancy between the number of insurgents the Taliban said had taken part and the number given by officials suggested there could still be militants at large, and everyone remained on guard.
In other words they missed the 13 spares, who could detonate at any moment...
Speaking to BBC News from inside the ministry of finance, civil servant Emal Masood said he could see the Feroshgah-e-Afghan shopping centre was burned out. He said: "One of my friends has a shop there. He told me two men entered - insurgents, yes - and were yelling at people to get out of the building.
| Isn't that a bit unusual? I thought suicide bombers preferred to kill as many innocent bystanders as possible. Or is that only in Israel and Iraq? |
'Deplorable'
The US condemned the attack. Special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said: "It's not surprising that the Taliban do this sort of thing. They are desperate people, they are ruthless."
"Desperate" and "ruthless" are two different things. They've always been ruthless -- it's part of Pashtun culture. It's easy to be ruthless when human life is dirt cheap. "Desperate" is another matter. The repeated boomer attacks on Kabul look like a coherent campaign, not acts of "desperation."
The US embassy in Kabul said the Taliban's disregard for Afghan lives was "deplorable".
... since we don't regard human life as cheaply. It's a cultural thing, so we actually don't understand it.
Taliban militants have launched a number of recent attacks on Kabul.
Coherently coordinated attacks, I might add...
Our correspondent, Mark Dummett, says there will be huge concern that the militants have again broken through to the most protected part of the city, although security forces say they do prevent many other attacks.
Another example of us having to be lucky all the time and them only having to be lucky now and then...
Nato spokesman US Navy Lt Nico Melendez told the BBC innocent civilians had been the target of Monday's attack. "We don't see a lot of attacks like this in Kabul. We do know that there are forces throughout the city providing protection for the innocent Afghan citizens and we're doing everything we can to help the Afghan police and the Afghan army. You can't protect all the people, all the time, all the places."
If you concentrate on destroying the enemy the populace eventually ends up getting protected...
Monday's attack comes amid continuing political uncertainty in Afghanistan. Mr Karzai was swearing in new members of his cabinet at the time of the raid.
Quite a coincidence, huh? Probably made the ruthless enemy so desperate they exploded...
Afghan MP Daoud Sultanzoy told the BBC it was not a coincidence that the attack started at 1000 local time, "almost exactly the same time that part of the cabinet would have been sworn in only 100m away".
I'm guessing the closest they could get was 100 yards...