DTN News - TALIBAN ATTACKS KABUL: Taliban Assault On Kabul Ends With Explosions And Heavy Gunfire
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 16, 2012: Afghan soldiers stormed a tower block which the militants had seized as a base to launch rocket and machine gun attacks into nearby diplomatic missions including the British embassy. A Taliban assault on the Afghanistan capital Kabul ends after 18 hours of heavy fighting across the city.
Six Taliban insurgents in the building were killed during the operation which was part of a coordinated offensive in seven sites across Kabul and in three other cities in eastern Afghanistan.
The ministry of interior reported that Afghan forces had killed 36 Taliban fighters and arrested one across the country.
Eight members of the Afghan security forces and three civilians also died, with around 40 members of the security forces and 25 civilians injured.
The Taliban assault also targetted foreign embassy buildings and the country's parliament.
Shukria Bariklzai, a member of parliament said she was proud of the way the security forces responded to the attack and described the terrifying situation that a fellow MP found himself in.
"The member of parliament was really in a bad situation in the parliament house, in the parliament building, in our places."
"But I am proud about my great brothers and their response to the enemy of the country," she added.
Explosions and gunfire echoed across the city for hours as the Afghan forces tried to dislodge their opponents who are thought to be from the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network.
Nato helicopters are also reported to have fired on buildings at the edge of the Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic enclave.
