Sex Acts Tied to Promotion at Afghan Embassy: Guard

(AP) - The US Embassy in Afghanistan says it has fired eight security guards following allegations of lewd behavior and sexual misconduct at their living quarters. The management team of the private contractor that provides the guards is also "being replaced immediately," officials at the Kabul embassy said today. The eight fired guards immediately left the country. More»

Taliban claims responsibility for series of attacks on diplomatic area, parliament

(NEWSER) - At least a dozen large explosions and sustained gunfire tore through Kabul this morning, in what appears to be a series of coordinated attacks on the city's diplomatic zone, reports the Telegraph . Fighting was reported around the British and US embassies, while smoke billowed from near the German embassy. The Afghan parliament was also targeted, although security has forced them back for now, according to Sky News . A prominent hotel was also reported burning and under attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility in a text message to the AP ; the attacks come just hours after a massive prison break freed 380 fighters in Pakistan . More»

Pakistan 'cannot go beyond what it has already done': official

(NEWSER) - Following a "special" meeting of Pakistan's military leaders, the country has decided not to heed US calls to attack Haqqani , a local paper says. “We have already conveyed to the US that Pakistan cannot go beyond what it has already done,” a military official told the Pakistani paper. The US believes Haqqani was behind the Sept. 13 attack on the American embassy in Kabul, and has issued ever-stronger accusations that the militants have ties to Pakistan’s spy agency. More»

Siege is over, nearly 21 hours after it began

(NEWSER) - This morning—almost 21 hours after the attack on the US embassy and other buildings in Kabul began—the last of the six attackers have been killed and the area is locked down. But questions are being raised about why it took so long to secure the high-rise building used by the assailants as a staging area, the Los Angeles Times notes. At least seven Afghans died in the attack, and 17 were hurt. Officials believe the insurgents disguised themselves as women in order to get weapons into the building, which is under construction, the Washington Post adds. More»

Taliban takes credit for concerted strikes

(NEWSER) - Blasts rang out today in Kabul's embassy district, with the Taliban taking credit for a coordinated series of attacks that included suicide bombers, rocket-propelled grenades, and at-times heavy gunfire, reports the Wall Street Journal. The US embassy was among those targeted, with one western diplomat reporting gunfire within its perimeter and journalists reporting that gunmen had taken over an unfinished neighboring building and were firing on the complex as loudspeakers directed people to take cover. The New York Times notes that at least 10 explosions have rocked the city. More»