15 Dead, 60 Wounded in Kabul Attacks even as NATO Official Admires Afghan Forces
Multiple attacks in Kabul on Monday left nearly 15 dead, 10 of the militants, and more than 60 wounded even as a NATO official has applauded the way Afghan forces responded to the attacks, said reports.
Taliban militants, armed with machine guns and suicide vests, had launched attack on the eve of swearing-in ceremony in Kabul. They occupied a five-story shopping centre and Justice Ministry and triggered a suicide blast near the gate of Presidential Palace.
The gunfight between militants and security forces has almost come to an end and nearly 10 militants were shot dead. Despite the terror attacks, President Hamid Karzai went ahead with the oath taking of 14 ministers approved by parliament, said reports.
In the meanwhile, a NATO official applauded the way Afghan forces responded to the attack.
The gun battle that followed suicide bomb explosions at several places was, in main, fought by Afghan security forces, said reports.
Brigadier General Eric Tremblay of the ISAF was quoted as saying by Euronews: “I think that strategically we were expecting some kind of sensational attack. But in the end, it demonstrates, in the way the Afghan national security forces are dealing with the operation, their skills and the level of experience they have now to be able to deal with the event.”
However, a senior British military chief said that the Taliban had shown by these attacks that it could hit the capital in several places simultaneously, raising new fears about Kabul’s security.
It also showed they were capable of causing mayhem at politically sensitive times – the first explosion went off as Afghanistan’s new cabinet was being sworn in.
(Based on internet reports)
