Day of the Taliban

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks across Kabul, the Afghan capital, on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, Parliament, and Western embassies.

Militants also launched near-simultaneous assaults in three other eastern cities. At least two assailants were killed and five people wounded in Kabul.

No Indian establishment was attacked. An external affairs ministry statement, issued in Delhi, said all Indian citizens were safe. Gautam Mukhopadhyay, India’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said all Indians were safe. Ranjit Sinha, ITBP director general, said there was no threat to the Indian embassy, about 3-4 km away from the site of attack. 

The assault highlighted the ability of militants to strike the heavily-guarded diplomatic zone even 10 years after US-backed Afghan forces removed the Taliban from power in 2001.

Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility, saying scores of suicide bombers were carrying out strikes in Kabul and Paktia, Nangarhar and Logar.

“These attacks are the beginning of the spring offensive and we had planned them for months,” the Taliban spokesman told various news agencies.

Heavy fighting erupted again more than five hours after the Taliban first struck, as dusk was falling over the capital and as mosques were issuing calls to prayer. The Taliban said the main targets were the German and British embassies, the headquarters of Afghanistan’s NATO-led force, the Serena and Kabul Star hotels, and sites along the Darulaman road, where the Russian Embassy is located.

The Kabul attack began on Sunday afternoon with explosions in the central neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan, where a NATO base and a number of embassies, including that of the US, are located.

Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people caught out in the street to scramble for cover. More than 10 explosions in all rocked the city, and heavy gunfire crackled across the rooftops for hours as smoke rose over the skyline and sirens wailed.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry said initial intelligence on the wave of attacks across the country pointed to involvement of the Haqqani network, which is allied with the Taliban and is considered one the most deadly groups fighting the US-led forces.

If the Haqqanis were involved, Pakistan will face the heat from the US, which has repeatedly asked the Pakistani military to go after them. The Haqqani network is believed to be based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region on the Afghan border.

“It’s too early to say, but initial findings show the Haqqanis were involved,” Sediq Sediqqi, Afghan interior ministry spokesman, told agencies.

The Taliban said in a statement that “tens of fighters”, armed with heavy and light weapons, and some wearing suicide-bomb vests, were involved. Kabul police said that three suicide bombers were killed and two were still resisting on the outskirts of the capital.

Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Kabul, said the ability of Afghan security forces to respond to Sunday’s attacks were a “clear sign of progress”. “We have seen a professional performance by Afghan security forces,” he told agencies.