[Quqnoos] The Afghan intelligence agency Tuesday blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba for last week's attacks in Kabul.At least 16 people, including 9 Indians, were killed Friday in a string of explosions and gunfire in a commercial district in central Kabul.
Sayed Ansari, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, or NDS, said that they have evidence that Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in the attacks. The accusation comes after the Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault on an Indian guest house that also left at least 56 others wounded.
"We are very close to the exact proof and evidence that the attack on the Indian guest house ... is not the work of the Afghan Taliban but this attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba network," Ansari told journalists.
The Afghan intelligence agency's spokesman said Lashkar-e Taiba are dependent on the Pakistan military.
There were four men armed with rifles and suicide vests, one of them was heard speaking Urdu, and that they wore burqas to hide their gear, Ansari added.
Friday's assault was the second major attack this year in the fortified Afghan capital. The last incident took place Jan 18, when three teams of gunmen attacked a popular shopping centre and several surrounding buildings near the presidential palace.
The Indian Embassy in Kabul has twice come under attack over the past two years, leaving dozens of casualties.