The Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack at the home of a top Afghan military official.
Acting Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi wasn’t home when the Taliban supposedly conducted their planned assassination attempt on Tuesday, which killed eight people and wounded 20, according to multiple outlets.
The attack, which began when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives, was “the beginning of retaliatory operations against the core officials of the Kabul administration,” the Taliban said in a statement.
After the blast, four gunmen wearing suicide vests rushed through the hole in the wall outside Mohammadi’s house and then entered an adjacent home of a member of Parliament.
The gunmen shot four people who tried to hide while another group of people took shelter behind a bulletproof door. Two of the perpetrators detonated their vests, while two others were killed by guards in a gun battle that lasted several hours.
“With the mercy of God, neither me nor my family members were hurt in this attack,” Mohammadi said in a video message. “I assure you all, my countrymen, that such incidents will not disrupt my will and morale in defending you and my country.”
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The Taliban are continuing their aggressive push as the U.S. withdrawal continues. The Taliban captured much of the Helmand provincial capital in Afghanistan days ago.
Over the weekend, the Taliban used rocket fire to attack the Kandahar airport in the southern part of Afghanistan, and a Taliban spokesman said the target was strategically chosen because “the enemy were using it as a center to conduct airstrikes against us.”
