SgtJim
02-12-2011, 06:22 PM
VOA News:
Taliban insurgents staged a major assault Saturday on a police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 40.
Officials say gunmen wearing suicide bomb vests attacked the police station with grenades and automatic rifles. Some were positioned in a wedding hall opposite the building.
Some of the bombers may have blown themselves up during the battle with police, while at least one car bomb is also said to have been used in the attack.
Officials say 15 police and one security agent were killed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the siege. Despite an influx of foreign troops in the region, Kandahar province has remained a major center of Taliban activity.
UPDATE:
21 dead, many injured in Afghan Taliban attack
KANDAHAR (AP): Taliban insurgents armed with bombs, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Kandahar police headquarters Saturday during a bloody assault on the southern Afghan city that killed at least 21 people and wounded dozens more. The bold afternoon raid showed insurgents are still able to launch deadly strikes on heavily fortified government institutions despite the past year's influx of US troops into Kandahar province, the Taliban's birthplace. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Fifteen of those killed were Afghan police officers, said provincial Governor Toryalai Wesa. Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said three Afghan soldiers, two civilians and one intelligence service agent also died in the assault. Insurgents first struck around noon, detonating a series of explosions that rocked the area near the provincial police headquarters. The police post is located in central Kandahar, not far from the governor's offices. Initial reports suggest a car bomb exploded outside the police compound, and then immediately afterward two suicide bombers tried to storm the headquarters but blew themselves up outside the perimeter wall, according to NATO officials in Kandahar. Five militants fitted with suicide vests battled with police for several hours, Bashary said. Some occupied a multistory building housing a wedding hall across the street from the headquarters. From there, they fired on the police headquarters compound with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. An Associated Press reporter nearby said multiple explosions rocked the neighborhood around the station. Exchanges of gunfire occasionally died down, only to pick up again several minutes later. Residents quickly shuttered shops and took cover inside as the fighting raged, and NATO vehicles could be seen inside the city. Helicopters hovered over the city as police deployed extra forces on the streets and around government buildings.
Taliban insurgents staged a major assault Saturday on a police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 40.
Officials say gunmen wearing suicide bomb vests attacked the police station with grenades and automatic rifles. Some were positioned in a wedding hall opposite the building.
Some of the bombers may have blown themselves up during the battle with police, while at least one car bomb is also said to have been used in the attack.
Officials say 15 police and one security agent were killed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the siege. Despite an influx of foreign troops in the region, Kandahar province has remained a major center of Taliban activity.
UPDATE:
21 dead, many injured in Afghan Taliban attack
KANDAHAR (AP): Taliban insurgents armed with bombs, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Kandahar police headquarters Saturday during a bloody assault on the southern Afghan city that killed at least 21 people and wounded dozens more. The bold afternoon raid showed insurgents are still able to launch deadly strikes on heavily fortified government institutions despite the past year's influx of US troops into Kandahar province, the Taliban's birthplace. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Fifteen of those killed were Afghan police officers, said provincial Governor Toryalai Wesa. Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said three Afghan soldiers, two civilians and one intelligence service agent also died in the assault. Insurgents first struck around noon, detonating a series of explosions that rocked the area near the provincial police headquarters. The police post is located in central Kandahar, not far from the governor's offices. Initial reports suggest a car bomb exploded outside the police compound, and then immediately afterward two suicide bombers tried to storm the headquarters but blew themselves up outside the perimeter wall, according to NATO officials in Kandahar. Five militants fitted with suicide vests battled with police for several hours, Bashary said. Some occupied a multistory building housing a wedding hall across the street from the headquarters. From there, they fired on the police headquarters compound with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. An Associated Press reporter nearby said multiple explosions rocked the neighborhood around the station. Exchanges of gunfire occasionally died down, only to pick up again several minutes later. Residents quickly shuttered shops and took cover inside as the fighting raged, and NATO vehicles could be seen inside the city. Helicopters hovered over the city as police deployed extra forces on the streets and around government buildings.