[WASHINGTONPOST] Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
praised security forces on Wednesday for repelling a Taliban assault on a Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which gave Hek the title
Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
guesthouse, which sparked a six-hour shootout that kept nearby residents cowering until dawn.
The stand by Afghan forces was a rare chance for authorities to boast about protection in the capital, which has faced a string of krazed killer attacks targeting foreigners -- including an assault on a hotel earlier this month that left at least 14 people dead.
But the ability of the attackers to penetrate into central Kabul, armed with a cache of weapons and ammunition, is likely to raise even more questions about whether Afghan cops can keep the capital secure.
The latest attack began about 11 p.m. Tuesday when four heavily-armed Death Eaters tried to storm a guesthouse owned by a prominent Afghan family and frequented by foreigners. The Death Eaters were armed with assault rifles, rocket launchers and hand-grenades. At least one of them was also wearing a boom jacket.
But when the attackers approached the guesthouse in Kabul's upscale Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, several security guards began firing on them. One of the Death Eaters then went
kaboom!on the street in front of the Heetal Plaza Hotel.
The other three hid in a concrete bunker near the front gate of the guesthouse. As Afghan police and soldiers rushed to the scene, the surrounding neighborhood became an urban battlefield.
The attackers repeatedly lobbed grenades, resulting in more than two dozen kabooms. More than 100 bullets were also fired by Death Eaters or police, neighbors said.
Around dawn, however, Afghan forces riding in armored vehicles blasted through the concrete outpost, killing all three attackers. Sediq Sediqqi, front man for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said there were no police or civilian casualties.
"Mahmoud! What's that sound?"
"Which sound?"
"Some kinda rumble and some clanking..."
"Sounds like some kinda armored vehicle."
"Heh. Lucky we got this neat concrete bunker to hide in!"
"Ummm... What's a tank weigh?"
"Depends. What kinda tank?"
"A T-55?"
"36 tons."
"You don't think--?"
[RUMBLE!] [CRUSH!] Aaaiiieeeeee!
In a statement, the president Ghani said Afghan "security forces once again proved that they are capable of defending our country and people against any threats."