Afghan authorities yesterday collected 43 bodies from a government compound in the capital, Kabul, that was targeted by a suicide bomber and extremists armed with assault rifles on Monday, officials said.
The attack began when the suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car in front of a government building that houses a public welfare department in an eastern neighborhood of Kabul.
Several attackers rampaged through the building of the Ministry for Martyrs and Disabled Persons and took workers hostage, while others fought a prolonged gun battle with security forces.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Afghan Ministry of Public Health spokesman Wahid Majroh said that so far, 43 bodies and 10 injured had been transported by ambulances from the attack site.
One policeman was killed and three militants were gunned down during seven hours of fighting inside the government compound.
Afghan forces evacuated more than 350 civilians from the building before calling off the operation on Monday night.
No group has claimed responsibility for the complex attack that was identical to previous attacks by Taliban insurgents on government offices, foreign buildings and military bases.
Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah blamed the Taliban for the attack.
“The ‘Taliban’ crime syndicate must know that with every attack they carry out against our people our resolve is further strengthened to eliminate them. Their conduct is a disgrace to the very notion of peace,” he said on Twitter.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group was not involved in Monday’s attack.
The latest assault came just days after US President Donald Trump said he was considering pulling out at least 5,000 of the 14,000 US troops deployed in Afghanistan.
The possibility of thousands of US troops leaving has triggered confusion and panic in the Kabul government and foreign missions, who fear that a sudden withdrawal would lead to the return of the Taliban regime.
However, US Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff who was in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, was quoted by local news channels as saying that the mission for troops in Afghanistan would continue without any changes.
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