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KABUL, Afghanistan Taliban insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles at the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other buildings in the heart of the capital Tuesday while suicide bombers struck police buildings in an attack blitz that displayed the ability of militants to bring their fight to the doorsteps of Western power in Afghanistan.
The coordinated assaults coming two days after the United States marked the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks carried an unsettling message to Western leaders and their Afghan allies about the resilience and reach of the Taliban network.
It was the third major attack in Kabul since late June, casting fresh doubts on the ability of Afghans to secure their own country as the U.S. and other foreign troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014.
The American Embassy and NATO both said no staff were wounded. Afghan officials said at least one Afghan police officer, a civilian, and two insurgents had been killed as gunfire and explosions resounded across the city well into the afternoon.
The Interior Ministry said a total of nine people were wounded around the capital. They include four injured by at least two suicide bombings in the western part of the capital.
The surge of violence was a stark reminder of the instability that continues to plague Afghanistan nearly a decade after the U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban for harboring al-Qaida, which carried out the 9/11 plane hijackings.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the "enemies of Afghanistan" were trying to disrupt the handing over of security responsibility to the Afghan army and police.
Plumes of smoke rose from the area near the embassy, and U.S. Army helicopters buzzed overhead. The American Embassy is on the edge of the Wazir Akbar Khan area, which is home to a number of other foreign missions. Explosions shook much of the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, gunmen fired from a nine-story office building that is under construction at Abdul Haq square, which is about 300 yards (meters) from the U.S. Embassy. Afghan official said the attack began when about half a dozen insurgents took over the building and began firing toward the embassy and the adjacent NATO headquarters.
Thee military coalition, also known as ISAF, said the insurgents were firing rocket propelled grenades and small arms.
"An Afghan-led response is under way against the attack near the U.S. Embassy and ISAF HQ," NATO said in a statement.
The Kabul police said at least seven insurgents were involved in the attacks around the city. Four were involved in the attack from the building and three attempted to carry out suicide attacks.
All three suicide attackers were killed by police: one on the road leading from the capital to the airport, and two when they tried to attack Afghan police buildings in western Kabul, across the city from the site of the embassy attack. One was shot by police; the bullets detonated his vest and injured two police officers. The other one detonated his vest at a nearby building, wounding two civilians.
"The gunbattle is continuing," Interior Ministry spokesman Sadiq Sadiqi said.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Kerri Hannan said that staff had been ordered to take cover in hardened structures. She later issued a statement confirming an attack by gunmen firing rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire.
"We can confirm there are no casualties at this time among embassy personnel," she said.
NATO also said none of its staff were wounded in the attack. It said the U.S.-led coalition was providing air support to Afghan security forces.
At least one rocket landed on a building housing privately owned Tolo TV and another near a minivan carrying school children.
Associated Press reporters saw police carrying the body of a civilian man, dressed in a white tunic and pants. He was hit by a rocket that landed in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, police said. A cameraman from Iran's Press TV was wounded by an explosion near their offices in the same neighborhood.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a number of suicide bombers attacked Afghan and foreign soldiers at Abdul Haq square. He claimed in a text message sent to reporters that suicide bombers using assault rifles also were attacking the offices of the Afghan intelligence service.
Violence in the once-quiet capital has escalated in recent months.
On Aug. 18 Taliban suicide bombers stormed a British compound in an upscale Kabul neighborhood, killing eight people during an eight-hour firefight as two English language teachers and their bodyguard hid in a locked panic room. Those killed included five policemen, a municipal worker, a security and a New Zealand special forces soldier who was shot in the chest as he tried to free the hostages who survived.
KABUL, Afghanistan -- American officials Wednesday blamed the bold attack on the U.S. Embassy on a Pakistan-based group allied with the Taliban, acknowledging that the assault brought a propaganda victory for the insurgents even as they played down its military significance.
The attack underscored holes in Afghan security: Six fighters with heavy weapons took over an unfinished high-rise that authorities knew was a perfect roost for an attack on the embassy and NATO headquarters about 300 meters (yards) away. They then held out against a 20-hour barrage by hundreds of Afghan and foreign forces.
It appeared likely that either weaponry had been stored in the 12-story building ahead of time or that some insurgents had entered in advance with a supply of guns and ammunition.
By the time the fighting ended at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the insurgents had killed 16 Afghans five police officers and 11 civilians, more than half of them children. Six or seven rockets hit inside the embassy compound, but no embassy or NATO staff members were hurt. All 11 attackers including four suicide bombers who targeted police buildings elsewhere in the city were killed, authorities said.
Police could be seen clapping their hands in celebration on the roof of the high-rise. Others carried the mangled bodies of insurgents down flights of rough concrete stairs and piled them into the back of a waiting ambulance.
Although the Taliban claimed responsibility for Tuesday's assault, U.S. and Afghan officials said the Haqqani network likely carried it out on their behalf. The Haqqanis have emerged as one of the biggest threats to Afghanistan's stability, working from lawless areas across the border in Pakistan's tribal region.
Nearly all Taliban attacks in and around the Afghan capital have been executed by the Haqqanis, who are also allied with al-Qaida. The Haqqani network was also blamed for a weekend truck bombing in eastern Wardak province that wounded 77 U.S. soldiers.
"It's tough when you're trying to fight an insurgency that has a lot of support outside the national borders," U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said. "It's complicated, it's difficult but clearly for a long-term solution those safe havens have to be reduced."
U.S. officials have been pressing Pakistan to go after Haqqani militants. But relations with Islamabad have not been good, particularly after the U.S. raid in May that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Crocker said Tuesday's attack would not affect the transfer of security responsibilities from the U.S.-led military coalition to the Afghan security forces. Foreign forces are to completely withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014.
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said the assault did not mean that Afghan security forces weren't doing their job, arguing that potential attacks are thwarted in Kabul nearly every day. However, he did allow that the violent standoff gave the Taliban the headlines they wanted.
"I'll grant that they did get an IO (Information Operations) win," Allen told reporters in the capital.
NATO's senior civilian representative, Simon Gass, called the attack "extremely frightening even for the citizens of Kabul."
Both men argued that the insurgents depend on these spectacular attacks because they can't take and hold ground.
"This really is not a very big deal," Crocker said. "If that's the best they can do, you know, I think it's actually a statement of their weakness."
But in Kabul, the fear expressed by some residents showed the effectiveness of the current militant campaign. This week's attack was the third major insurgent assault in the capital since late June.
Ghulam Sadeq, 36, who works in a government office, said he doesn't trust the government or the security forces to keep him safe.
looks kinda like the Tet offensive strategy
Source: CentcomANSF and ISAF Forces conclude response to attack in Kabul
By ISAF Public Affairs OfficeKABUL, Afghanistan
(September 14, 2011) — Afghan National Security Forces, supported by Coalition forces, successfully concluded an operation this morning against a small group of insurgents who attacked several locations in Kabul city.
Insurgents attacked the International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan headquarters and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Tuesday with small arms fire from outside the secure zone surrounding these compounds.
Afghan National Security Forces, who have the lead for security in Kabul, responded immediately, to include Afghan National Army helicopters providing air support. Afghan and Coalition forces trapped the insurgents in the partially-constructed, multi-story building they were using as a firing position, and conducted a methodical, floor-by-floor clearing operation. The Ministry of the Interior is reporting six insurgents killed in the operation.
"The people of Afghanistan have chosen a path to the future withTransition," said Gen. John R. Allen, ISAF commander. "In this attack, the insurgency succeeded in killing Afghan civilians, once again demonstrating their bankrupt ideology, which has been rejected by the Afghan people. Afghan security forces responded bravely, contained the insurgents, and systematically eliminated the threat. Once again, I was impressed by the courage, skill and fighting spirit of Afghan forces.
The insurgency has again failed.
Current reports indicate that 6 ISAF personnel were wounded
