Chaotic and Bloody Attacks in Kabul

Carina Gibson

Feb. 13, 2009

10:41 am

On Wednesday, the Justice Ministry in central Kabul was stormed by attackers, killing at least 20 people and leaving 54 wounded. On that same day, suicide bombers blew themselves up in northern Kabul. According to a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujaheed, the militants sent 16 suicide bombers into the Ministry, six of which entered the building. Eyewitnesses and bystanders described the scene as chaotic and bloody, on each of the four floors. Dead bodies were strewn about and gun shots and explosions were continuously heard. Afghan intelligence officers eventually managed to kill all the attackers, but several hours after the attack were notified of one more attacker cornered in the building. It took awhile before they could make it into the building because of several children trapped in the kindergarten class inside. The Taliban took responsibility for the attacks, and claim that there still could be more attackers at large in the city. The head of the Afghan national intelligence, Amrullah Saleh said that before the attacks began, three messages were sent out to the people of Pakistan "calling for the blessing of their mastermind.” According to him and other intelligence officers, the sources of these statements are not known.

Attacks such as this one highlight the severity and growing danger of the situation in Afghanistan and the surrounding area. President Obama has a large task ahead of him in securing the safety and stability of the country. He plans to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan in the coming year.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/11/asia/afghan.php