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Suicide Bombing in Kabul Kills at Least 10 Taliban Bombing Kills at Least 20 Police in Kabul
(about 3 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bombing near a police facility in Kabul left at least 10 people dead and 20 others wounded on Monday, Afghan officials said. KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban suicide bomber struck near a Kabul police complex on Monday, killing at least 20 policemen and wounding 29 people, Afghan officials said, in the latest of a rapid-fire series of militant attacks on the capital this year.
It was the latest in a series of such attacks that have rocked the Afghan capital in the past month. The attack came as the American military issued a grim confirmation of the war’s toll on the Afghan security forces, saying that casualties among Afghan soldiers and policemen in 2015 were up by almost a third. That set a record from the year before — a casualty rate so high that some officials described it then as unsustainable.
Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi, Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister, said on Twitter that the assault occurred in the afternoon near Deh Mazang Square, in the west of the city, where several police stations are. Witnesses said the bomber walked up to a line of visitors waiting for a security check near the gate of the National Civil Order Police and detonated his explosives. Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi, Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister, said on Twitter that the attack on Monday occurred in the afternoon near Deh Mazang Square, in a western part of the city that has several police stations. Witnesses said the bomber walked up to a line of visitors waiting for a security check near the gate of the National Civil Order Police and detonated his explosives.
“The attack by one suicide bomber left 10 people martyred and 20 wounded,” General Salangi said. “Most of the martyred and the wounded were civilians.” A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying the bomber targeted the facility as a large group of police officers was leaving.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying the bomber targeted the center as a large group of police officers was leaving.
Dozens of police officers cordoned off the sidewalk at the site of the bombing. But the main road, one of the busiest in Kabul, stayed open to traffic. Human remains were still visible even after firefighters had hosed down the area.Dozens of police officers cordoned off the sidewalk at the site of the bombing. But the main road, one of the busiest in Kabul, stayed open to traffic. Human remains were still visible even after firefighters had hosed down the area.
“You see that tree? The branches are covered in flesh and blood,” said Ahmad Parwiz, who sells fried dough across the street from the National Civil Order Police. “There were a lot of visitors queued up to go inside when the explosion happened. Thank God we weren’t hurt on this side of the road.”“You see that tree? The branches are covered in flesh and blood,” said Ahmad Parwiz, who sells fried dough across the street from the National Civil Order Police. “There were a lot of visitors queued up to go inside when the explosion happened. Thank God we weren’t hurt on this side of the road.”
The recent increase in urban attacks by the Taliban, in addition to a territory-gobbling offensive across the country, has coincided with international efforts to restart peace talks that stalled in July after it was revealed that the movement’s leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had died in 2013. Intense Taliban offensives that are carrying on through the winter, including the string of bombings in Kabul, have Afghan and Western officials increasingly worried about the pressure on the Afghan security forces.
Officials from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States are expected to meet for a third time soon to chart a road map for bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table. Col. Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for NATO and United States forces in Afghanistan, said the casualties of Afghan forces through 2015 was 28 percent higher than from the year before.
Colonel Lawhorn, who would not go into details about the new casualty report, and said a difficult year for the Afghan forces had long been expected because they were carrying responsibility for a “significantly increased operational tempo” last year, after the end of the NATO combat mission.
An Afghan official briefed on the matter put the number of casualties in 2015 at close to 16,000 soldiers and police officers, with more than 5,000 of them killed and the rest wounded.
Even those numbers seemed low, considering that 4,100 had been killed in the first six months of 2015, and the fighting greatly intensified in the last six months of the year.
Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan ministry of defense, declined to comment on the specific number of soldiers killed. He referred to the ministry’s daily news releases, which often have reports of the day’s casualties.
“All I can say is that compared to 2014, the casualties in 2015 were more,” General Wazir said.
The recent increase in urban attacks by the Taliban, in addition to a territory-gobbling offensive across the country, has coincided with international efforts to restart peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government. After a brief surge of progress last year, the effort stalled in July after it was revealed that the movement’s leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had died in 2013.
Officials from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States are expected to meet for a third time soon to discuss a plan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.