Sunday
May 8, 2011
May 8, 2011
Posted Saturday, May 7 2011 at 20:24
In Summary
- Al-Qaeda militants bomb government targets leaving at least 30 wounded
The Taliban unleashed a wave of attacks including six suicide bombings on government targets in the major southern Afghan city of Kandahar today, leaving at least 30 people wounded.
Militants with guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the governor’s office, and ten explosions including six suicide blasts rocked the city, the heartland of the Taliban, after violence began around 1pm.
Gunmen occupied a hotel near the local office of Afghanistan’s intelligence service, while suicide bombers tried to attack two police offices but were shot before they could reach their targets.
In chaotic scenes, an AFP reporter said gunfire was still ringing out as ambulances evacuated the wounded, who included five policemen, from the area.
“Small-arms fire is still going on. Two rocket-propelled grenades have been fired onto the (governor’s) building so far,” provincial spokesman Zalmay Ayubi told AFP.
It is believed that Kandahar governor Tooryalai Wesa was holed up in his compound.
A spokesman for Kandahar’s main hospital, Doctor Hashem, said that 30 people had been brought in with injuries, including five police.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, with spokesman Yusuf Ahmadi claiming that “heavy casualties have been inflicted on the enemy”.
The militia had warned on Friday that this week’s killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan would give “a new impetus” to their fight against foreign and Afghan forces.
But Ahmadi said the Kandahar attacks were planned for nearly three weeks and were part of the start of the Taliban’s annual spring offensive announced last week.
The assault against the heavily guarded governor’s compound was launched from two nearby buildings including a shopping mall.
There are around 130,000 international troops in Afghanistan, two-thirds of them from the United States, battling the Taliban and other insurgents.
Limited withdrawals are due to start in July ahead of the planned end of foreign combat operations in 2014. (AFP)
Kandahar, Saturday
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