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| Bomb Rocks Kabul’s Diplomatic Quarter and Starts a Standoff | Bomb Rocks Kabul’s Diplomatic Quarter and Starts a Standoff |
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| KABUL, Afghanistan — A huge car explosion rocked the diplomatic quarter of Kabul on Friday, and Afghan officials said Taliban attackers were holed up near or inside a guesthouse belonging to the Spanish Embassy. | KABUL, Afghanistan — A huge car explosion rocked the diplomatic quarter of Kabul on Friday, and Afghan officials said Taliban attackers were holed up near or inside a guesthouse belonging to the Spanish Embassy. |
| Details about casualties and the number of attackers remained unclear, but sporadic gunfire could be heard at the scene as the police cordoned off the neighborhood. | Details about casualties and the number of attackers remained unclear, but sporadic gunfire could be heard at the scene as the police cordoned off the neighborhood. |
| One senior security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the authorities suspected that two or three attackers were in a guesthouse belonging to the Spanish Embassy. Other reports suggested that the guesthouse belonged to the Chinese. The Crisis Response Unit, an elite police force that took charge of the operation, evacuated at least three people from the building, the official said. | One senior security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the authorities suspected that two or three attackers were in a guesthouse belonging to the Spanish Embassy. Other reports suggested that the guesthouse belonged to the Chinese. The Crisis Response Unit, an elite police force that took charge of the operation, evacuated at least three people from the building, the official said. |
| A post on the Twitter account of Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, denied that the Spanish Embassy was the focus of the attack. It did, however, acknowledge that a Spanish police officer had been killed, though no further details were offered. | A post on the Twitter account of Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, denied that the Spanish Embassy was the focus of the attack. It did, however, acknowledge that a Spanish police officer had been killed, though no further details were offered. |
| Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister, said two attackers had been killed and one wounded, though others remained in the fight. | |
| “Clearance operation is ongoing,” Mr. Salangi said on his Twitter page. | “Clearance operation is ongoing,” Mr. Salangi said on his Twitter page. |
| The Emergency hospital in Kabul reported receiving seven wounded. | The Emergency hospital in Kabul reported receiving seven wounded. |
| The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgents, said on his Twitter account, “A guesthouse of invaders was targeted.” | The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the insurgents, said on his Twitter account, “A guesthouse of invaders was targeted.” |
| The attack began just hours after President Ashraf Ghani announced that a peace process with the Taliban would start “within upcoming weeks.” Mr. Ghani recently returned from meetings with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad, Pakistan, where efforts were underway to restart stalled peace talks with the Taliban. The talks had been derailed in July when it was revealed that Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban leader who had supposedly blessed them, had died at least two years earlier. | The attack began just hours after President Ashraf Ghani announced that a peace process with the Taliban would start “within upcoming weeks.” Mr. Ghani recently returned from meetings with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad, Pakistan, where efforts were underway to restart stalled peace talks with the Taliban. The talks had been derailed in July when it was revealed that Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban leader who had supposedly blessed them, had died at least two years earlier. |
| As Mr. Ghani met with officials from Pakistan, the United States and China on Wednesday, a 26-hour siege of residential buildings near Kandahar Airfield left at least 50 people dead, once again raising questions about whether the Taliban were interested in talking peace at all. | As Mr. Ghani met with officials from Pakistan, the United States and China on Wednesday, a 26-hour siege of residential buildings near Kandahar Airfield left at least 50 people dead, once again raising questions about whether the Taliban were interested in talking peace at all. |
| “The Taliban are divided into different groups, and there is no united Taliban movement,” Mr. Ghani said at a news conference on Friday. “Therefore, it is important for us to understand which division of the movement is willing to accept peace and which ones are not.” | “The Taliban are divided into different groups, and there is no united Taliban movement,” Mr. Ghani said at a news conference on Friday. “Therefore, it is important for us to understand which division of the movement is willing to accept peace and which ones are not.” |
| He said the government of Pakistan, where the leadership of the Taliban operates, had promised to go after groups that refused to stand down. | He said the government of Pakistan, where the leadership of the Taliban operates, had promised to go after groups that refused to stand down. |
| Although a divided Taliban might make reconciliation with some of its factions easier, it has certainly turned the battlefield more chaotic, facilitating a foothold in some areas for a splinter insurgent group loyal to the Islamic State. | Although a divided Taliban might make reconciliation with some of its factions easier, it has certainly turned the battlefield more chaotic, facilitating a foothold in some areas for a splinter insurgent group loyal to the Islamic State. |
| The new group, which mostly consists of disenchanted former Taliban and foreign fighters pushed into Afghanistan from the tribal areas of Pakistan by military operations in that country, has been fighting turf battles with the Taliban in eastern Nangarhar Province and parts of southern Afghanistan. | The new group, which mostly consists of disenchanted former Taliban and foreign fighters pushed into Afghanistan from the tribal areas of Pakistan by military operations in that country, has been fighting turf battles with the Taliban in eastern Nangarhar Province and parts of southern Afghanistan. |
| On Thursday night, at least five people were killed in a suicide bombing in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, after the authorities arrested Russian-speaking people who one security official said might have been seeking to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. | On Thursday night, at least five people were killed in a suicide bombing in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, after the authorities arrested Russian-speaking people who one security official said might have been seeking to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. |
| Afghan security forces arrested nine Russian-speaking militants near Jalalabad, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar. “Among them, five are men, one woman and three children,” Mr. Khogyani said. | Afghan security forces arrested nine Russian-speaking militants near Jalalabad, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar. “Among them, five are men, one woman and three children,” Mr. Khogyani said. |
| A senior security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the fighters were Central Asians who had most likely come from Waziristan, in the tribal areas of Pakistan, to join Islamic State affiliates in the Achin or Kot districts. The men and children were searched upon arrest, but the woman could not be searched because there was no female security guard present, the official said. | A senior security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the fighters were Central Asians who had most likely come from Waziristan, in the tribal areas of Pakistan, to join Islamic State affiliates in the Achin or Kot districts. The men and children were searched upon arrest, but the woman could not be searched because there was no female security guard present, the official said. |
| As the suspects were being transferred to the local offices of the Afghan intelligence agency, the woman detonated explosives she was carrying, killing herself, the three children and one security official, Mr. Khogyani said. The five men remain in custody. | As the suspects were being transferred to the local offices of the Afghan intelligence agency, the woman detonated explosives she was carrying, killing herself, the three children and one security official, Mr. Khogyani said. The five men remain in custody. |