Insurgents attack traffic police headquarters in Kabul, killing 3

USPA News - A group of suspected Taliban insurgents attacked the traffic police headquarters in the Afghan capital of Kabul on early Monday morning, killing three officers and leading to a battle with security forces that lasted more than nine hours, officials said. The incident began just after 5 a.m. local time when five militants stormed the traffic police headquarters complex in the Deh Mazang area in the 3rd district, which is located in the heart of the Afghan capital.

Three unarmed traffic police officers were killed in the initial attack, which involved two of the attackers detonating their suicide vests at the gate. A sedan packed with explosives blew up near the gate of the facility a short time later, injuring eleven people, including seven civilians. A third attacker was killed when he blew himself up inside the traffic police headquarters building, and the two remaining militants were killed some nine hours later when they were shot by security forces. Provincial police chief Lieutenant General Mohammad Ayub Salangi said the security operation was carried out "carefully" because there were important documents inside the complex. At least three rooms were set on fire during the nine-hour-long attack, but none of the rooms are believed to have contained important documents. In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack. "The lions of Islam bravely fought back the joint enemies and their reinforcements for more than 9 and a half hours, killing some 24 invaders and their puppets and wounding a further 31 until the last Mujahid (Muslim fighter) embraced martyrdom," he said, greatly exaggerating the casualty figures. Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned Monday`s attack, describing it as a "failed and desperate attempt that led only to the death and injury of innocent lives." He said the attack was carried out by enemies who "do not want to see Afghanistan become a strong and a capable country."