SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2007
9:13 MECCA TIME, 6:13 GMT
Kabul hit by 'co-ordinated' attack
Police said no attacker's body was found [AFP]
The Taliban claims to have carried out a co-ordinated
rocket and bomb attack in Kabul, saying it is using a
new tactic to strike at the heart of the Afghan
capital.
The authorities said at least five civilians were
killed, and several others wounded, in the attack near
the governor's compound in the centre of Kabul on
Saturday morning.
The compound houses the governor's office, courts and
police offices.
Najib Nekzad, an interior ministry press officer, said
the deaths occurred when a rocket was fired towards
the police station but instead landed in a crowd of
civilians.
Moments later, a car loaded with five 107mm rockets
detonated near the compound.
General Zahir Azimi, a defence ministry spokesman,
said two of the rockets exploded, at about 8:20am
(03:50 GMT), but the other three did not.
Owen Fay, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, said:
"The Taliban claim that this latest attack is
effectively an experiment.
"What they are trying to find out is if they do have
the means, the wherewithal to co-ordinate an attack
that includes both explosives on the ground and
shoulder-fired missiles shot from the hills
surrounding Kabul."
Remote detonation
No attacker's body was found, Nekzad said, leading
police to believe that the attack was detonated
remotely.
A police officer at the scene, Mohammad Amin, said he
saw the truck before it exploded, and that it was
loaded with bags and a large rocket launcher. He said
the attack did not appear to be a suicide bombing.
The Taliban promise attacks will increase
in the coming months [Reuters]
He said: "That rocket launcher was aimed toward the
police chief's headquarters. He tried to hit it with
all those rockets, but when the third explosion
happened the truck was destroyed."
Several shops in the area were damaged by the force of
the explosion.
Zabihullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, said his
group had carried out the attack, which he confirmed
was aimed at the Kabul police headquarters.
Fay reported: "The Taliban say this marks a new shift
in tactics. It's something they haven't tried in Kabul
before and it's what they're going to attempt to do
throughout the next few months."
The interior ministry said the bombing was
"unprecedented" and appeared to be a new "terrorist
tactic".
Suicide attacks
The Taliban regularly uses suicide raids and roadside
bomb attacks as part of its fight against the
US-backed Afghan government and foreign troops.
In early December, Taliban bombers attacked twice
around the time of a visit by Robert Gates, the US
defence secretary.
A bomber slammed his car into a bus filled with Afghan
soldiers in Kabul on December 5, killing 13 people.
On December 4, a Nato convoy was hit by a similar
attack close to the capital's international airport.
There were no casualties among Nato forces, but 22
Afghans were wounded, according to Nato.
The deadliest suicide attack in Kabul hit an army bus
in September and killed 28 army personnel.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the past
two years, the bloodiest period since US-led forces
overthrew the Taliban government in 2001.
An increasing number of Afghans are frustrated with
the lack of progress towards peace.
Fay said the military says the attack is evidence of a
desperate Taliban trying to prove it is still
relevant.
The Taliban, however, say it is part of a wider-scale
operation against British, Afghan and Nato forces in
the south, and the attacks are going to increase in
the next few months.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
---------------
Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo
Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu
dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
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