2 US University Workers Killed in Afghan Attack

The American University of Afghanistan says that two of its US employees were among those killed in a Taliban attack on a popular Kabul restaurant yesterday that left 21 people dead, including 13 foreigners. A spokesperson did not identify the employees out of respect for the families, but he said one had just recently joined the faculty of political science and the other was a member of the student affairs staff.

The attack in a heavily guarded part of the city was especially brazen. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the restaurant, filled with foreigners and affluent Afghans eating dinner, while two gunmen snuck in through the back door and opened fire. The fatalities included four UN personnel. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack against La Taverna du Liban, part of a stepped-up campaign of violence against foreign and government interests to send a message that the militants are not going anywhere as the US-led coalition winds down its combat mission. (More Kabul stories.)