KABUL, (MILLAT/APP/AFP) – Explosions and gunfire echoed through
Kabul in two separate Taliban assaults on security buildings Wednesday, officials said, as the insurgents ramp up attacks before the start of their
annual spring offensive.
A suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and
a gun battle ensued, the interior ministry said, in what appeared to be a
complex insurgent attack.
Minutes later a suicide bomber blew himself up while trying to enter the
Afghan intelligence agency in eastern Kabul, the ministry added.
“There were two attacks in Kabul today,” ministry spokesman Najibullah
Danish told AFP.
“There are casualties from the first attack and we also have reports of
gunfights, but at this stage we cannot confirm whether it is a complex attack.”
The Taliban claimed both attacks.
The Afghan health ministry said 18 wounded people, some of them seriously,
had so far been brought to hospitals.
“More casualties are expected as the ambulances are on their way,” ministry
spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP.
Afghan security forces are battling a resurgent Taliban amid record
casualties and mass desertions as the insurgents escalate nationwide attacks
even in winter months when the fighting usually wanes.
Repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed and
an intense new fighting season is expected to kick off in the spring.