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| Afghan Taliban Blast Way Into Police Post, Killing Chief and Officers | Afghan Taliban Blast Way Into Police Post, Killing Chief and Officers |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — A provincial police chief and more than 20 officers were killed in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday when Taliban gunmen in explosive vests entered their headquarters by blowing through its walls with a bomb-laden vehicle, officials said. | |
| Nearly 200 people were injured in the attack on the station in Gardez, the capital of Paktia Province, according to local officials who said they expected the toll to rise | |
| “The casualties get higher and higher,” said Hedayatullah Hamidi, the province’s health director. “It is not the final list.” | |
| He said that 193 wounded and 23 dead, including civilians and police officers, were taken to Paktia Provincial Hospital alone. | |
| The Taliban released a statement saying that they had detonated two vehicles — first a truck, and then a Humvee — before their fighters stormed the police compound. Gen. Assadullah Shirzad, head of the police for the eastern zone, said as many as 11 attackers were involved. | |
| Habibullah Sarab, 16, who lives nearby, said he rushed to the site after hearing a big explosion, which shattered the windows of his home. | |
| “I saw dozens of people lying on the ground under debris of the explosion,” he said, adding that most were civilians who had been waiting outside the Police Headquarters to get new passports. | |
| Calling the devastation “very bad,” he said: “Some people were burned by the fire of the explosion; some others were lying in their blood.” | |
| He added that he saw burning vehicles in the street in front of the headquarters. | |
| Among those killed was Gen. Toryalai Abdyani, the province’s police chief, a member of the provincial council said. | Among those killed was Gen. Toryalai Abdyani, the province’s police chief, a member of the provincial council said. |
| “The car, packed with explosives, managed to come all the way inside, next to the police chief’s room,” said Abdul Raouf Zadran, a council member. | “The car, packed with explosives, managed to come all the way inside, next to the police chief’s room,” said Abdul Raouf Zadran, a council member. |
| Wali Tabasum, the Paktia police spokesman, said he survived because he had been sent out on a work errand 20 minutes earlier. | |
| But as for General Abdyani, “He was killed at his desk,” Mr. Tabasum said. | |
| The attack was one of at least two Taliban attacks on police stations on Tuesday. In the southern province of Ghazni, militants also attacked a security compound, killing at least seven police officers. | The attack was one of at least two Taliban attacks on police stations on Tuesday. In the southern province of Ghazni, militants also attacked a security compound, killing at least seven police officers. |
| The Afghan Interior Ministry said the assailants in the Paktia attack were armed with heavy weapons and suicide vests. | The Afghan Interior Ministry said the assailants in the Paktia attack were armed with heavy weapons and suicide vests. |