At least 28 people were killed and more than 300 people were injured in a terror attack during morning rush hour in central Kabul Tuesday.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in the Afghan capital.
The attack began when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the compound of the offices of the Directorate of Security for Dignitaries, the elite security team that protects senior government officials. After the back wall of the private parking lot behind the compound was blown out, a second attacker entered the building. After less than two hours, that attacker died in a gun battle with security forces, police said.
According to Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Kabul’s police chief, 28 people, mostly civilians, were killed. Another 327 people had been wounded, and both numbers are expected to rise.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi added that many of the victims included women and children.
“First a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden lorry on the gate of the department and then other armed attackers went in and started shooting on the rest of the enemies,” the statement from the Afghan Taliban said, claiming responsibility for the attack.
Taliban announced its annual spring offensive last week, putting security forces in Kabul on high alert.
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, adding in a tweet it “clearly shows the enemy’s defeat in face-to-face battle” with Afghan government forces.
“Afghanistan deserves peace and security, not attacks that victimize parents taking their children to school, workers on their morning commute, and people who have stepped forward to help defend their fellow citizens,” the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.
(h/t CNN, the New York Times)
