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Gunmen attack Kabul TV station after explosion Two killed as Isis gunmen attack Kabul TV station
(about 3 hours later)
Gunmen have attacked a private television station in Kabul after breaking into the building following an explosion. Gunmen disguised as policemen have stormed a television station in Kabul, killing at least two people and wounding several others in the latest deadly attack on Afghan journalists.
Many staff were still inside, an employee told AFP, describing the attack as ongoing. Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday which lasted about three hours before Afghan special forces overpowered the attackers, who were armed with guns and grenades, and freed staff trapped inside the building.
“I saw three attackers on security cameras entering the TV station building. They first shot the guard and then entered the building. They started throwing grenades and firing,” said Faisal Zaland, a reporter from Shamshad TV, who escaped through a back door. “The attack has ended. According to the commander of the special forces all the staff who were inside the building have been rescued,” Shamshad TV announced as it went back on the air in an act of defiance just moments later.
Shamshad, a Pashto-language station that broadcasts across Afghanistan, was transmitting a holding image instead of its normal programming. “This is an attack on freedom of media but they cannot silence us,” the station’s news director, Abid Ehsas, told rival Tolo News at a hospital in the Afghan capital where some of his wounded colleagues are being treated.
Zaland said security forces were in the area of the Shamshad compound in the Afghan capital “trying to bring down the attackers”. The station reported that one attacker blew himself up at the gate. Another went inside and shot at staff before going up to the roof to fire on security forces.
“Many of my colleagues are still in the building,” he added. Special forces troops blasted their way through a wall of the compound to enter the premises of the Pashto-language broadcaster.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied in a Twitter post that the militant group was involved in the attack. The interior ministry said it was investigating the incident but had no further details. “I was in my office when gunmen wearing police uniforms attacked the building,” Ehsas said. “They killed one of our guards and entered the building and started firing. Most of us were able to flee but some were wounded and some jumped out of the windows.”
Kabul has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks as the Taliban and Islamic State insurgents step up offensives against security installations and mosques. He said the station had not received any threats before the attack.
Last Tuesday, a suicide bomber, believed to have been as young as 12, struck Kabul’s heavily fortified diplomatic quarter and killed at least five people, showing that militants can still hit the heart of the city. Gunshots could be heard inside the building every few minutes during the assault as more security forces and emergency services swarmed around the area.
At least one employee told AFP he had seen three attackers entering the building on security cameras.
“They first shot the guard and then entered the building. They started throwing grenades and firing,” Shamshad TV reporter Faisal Zaland, who escaped through a back door, told AFP.
Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said two guards had been killed and five people wounded – a Shamshad employee and four firefighters.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released by its Amaq propaganda agency. The Taliban had earlier released a Twitter statement denying involvement.
Pashto is one of the official languages in Afghanistan and is spoken mainly in the south where the Taliban have a large presence.
Security in Kabul has been ramped up since 31 May when a truck bomb went off on the edge of the “Green Zone”. About 150 people were killed and 400 others were wounded.Security in Kabul has been ramped up since 31 May when a truck bomb went off on the edge of the “Green Zone”. About 150 people were killed and 400 others were wounded.
Special truck scanners, barriers and permanent and mobile checkpoints have been rolled out across the city.Special truck scanners, barriers and permanent and mobile checkpoints have been rolled out across the city.
The last major assault in Kabul was on 21 October when a suicide attacker hit a bus carrying Afghan army trainees, killing 15 people.The last major assault in Kabul was on 21 October when a suicide attacker hit a bus carrying Afghan army trainees, killing 15 people.
A day earlier, a suicide bomber pretending to be a worshipper blew himself up inside a Shia mosque in the city during evening prayers, killing 56 and wounding 55.A day earlier, a suicide bomber pretending to be a worshipper blew himself up inside a Shia mosque in the city during evening prayers, killing 56 and wounding 55.
This month, Kabul police stopped a lorry carrying 2,700kg of explosives hidden under boxes of tomatoes, averting a potentially deadly blast.This month, Kabul police stopped a lorry carrying 2,700kg of explosives hidden under boxes of tomatoes, averting a potentially deadly blast.