Explosions and gunfire echoed through Kabul in two separate Taliban assaults on security compounds Wednesday, officials said, as the insurgents ramp up attacks before the start of their annual spring offensive.
At least one person was killed and 35 others wounded in the carnage, which underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan as the resurgent Taliban escalate their winter campaign of violence.
A suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a gun battle ensued, a security official said, in what appeared to be a complex ongoing attack.
Minutes later a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul as another attacker was gunned down while trying to enter the compound, the official added.
“There were two attacks in Kabul,” the official told AFP.
“A car bomber hit a police station and another attacker who entered the building has taken position inside. Security forces are still engaged in fighting.”
The Taliban claimed both assaults, with insurgent spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid calling them “martyrdom attacks” on Twitter.
The Afghan health ministry said the wounded, some of them in critical condition, had been rushed to hospitals.
“More casualties are expected as the ambulances are on their way,” ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP.
Source: AFP
