Attacks Rock Kabul, US Embassy

Taliban takes credit for concerted strikes
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2011 6:23 AM CDT
Updated Sep 13, 2011 7:52 AM CDT
US Embassy Attack: Kabul Targets Under Taliban Fire
An Afghan policeman stands guard in front of a vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this Thursday, June 23, 2011, file photo.   (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

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.

"The primary targets of the attackers are the intelligence agency building and a ministry," a Taliban spokesman said in confirming the attacks. Also targeted was NATO's International Security Assistance Force, notes Al Jazeera; "Forces responding quickly," noted ISAF on its Twitter feed. "There has been an explosion and gunfire, there are several armed attackers in Abdul Haq Square," says a top Kabul police official. (More Kabul stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X