KABUL – Suicide bombers and gunmen launched apparent coordinated attacks ontwo Kabul police stations on Wednesday, with officials saying at least oneof the assaults is ongoing.
AFP journalists heard a series of loud explosions in the heart of theAfghan capital followed by volleys of gunfire that were confirmed by Afghanofficials and witnesses.
In the first attack a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a policestation in the west of the city, sparking an intense gunfight between othermilitants and officers, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.
Ariana TV footage showed a thick plume of black smoke rising into the skywhile a photo posted on Twitter purportedly of the west Kabul policestation showed a building on fire.
The second attack took place in front of a police station in Shar-e-Nawneighbourhood in central Kabul, Danish said.
“Two attackers who tried to enter the police compound were shot dead,” thespokesman added.
The attack on the first police station has ended while the operation at thesecond is ongoing, Danish said.
An AFP correspondent near the scene of the second attack saw a body on thestreet by the police station and heard several gunshots. He also sawseveral terrified women running away from the scene.
A travel agency that handles Indian visa applications is located on thesame street as the Shar-e-Naw police station. The Indian embassy and someof its consulates in Afghanistan have previously been targeted by theTaliban.
Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said six civilians wounded in theexplosions had been brought to hospitals. He had no further details oncasualties.
– Increased attacks –
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks that comejust over a week after twin blasts in Kabul killed 25 people, including AFPchief photographer Shah Marai and eight other journalists.
Those attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group.
The Taliban recently launched their annual spring offensive, in an apparentrejection of a peace talks overture by the Afghan government.
Their Operation Al Khandaq will target US forces and “their intelligenceagents” as well as their “internal supporters”, a Taliban statement said onApril 25.
After an easing of violence in Kabul in February and March, Taliban and ISmilitants have stepped up attacks in the city in recent weeks.
Kabul has long been one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan forcivilians.
A suicide bomber targeting a blood drive for victims of recent attacks blewhimself up in a city park on Monday after being spotted by police, causingno other casualties.
On April 22, a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a voterregistration centre in the city, killing 60 people and wounding more than100.
That was among a series of attacks across the country in places wherepeople were signing up to vote.
The Taliban and IS have made clear their intentions to disrupt theparliamentary and district council elections scheduled for October 20.
General John Nicholson, who leads US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, saidpreviously that protecting Kabul was a priority for foreign troops.
But he acknowledged that preventing attacks would be challenging in thesprawling city that is poorly mapped and extremely porous. – APP/AFP