Updated on
Summary
Suicide bombers attacked Kabul today, sparking a series of explosions and gunbattles that killed at least 17 people and injured 32 others in an area of residential hotels rented by Indian embassy workers and other foreigners.The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying five suicide bombers conducted the early morning attacks on two buildings used by foreign citizens. Police said Indians were among those killed in the blasts.The attacks in Kabul came as thousands of US, Afghan and Nato soldiers were in their second week of a major offensive against a Taliban stronghold in the town of Marjah in southern Afghanistan. Nato said one service member was killed Friday by a roadside bomb, bringing to 14 the number of service members who have died in the operation in Helmand province.In recent weeks, more than two dozen senior and midlevel Taliban figures have been detained in Pakistan, suggesting the attack in the capital could be a way for the militants to show the insurgency remains potent.A large plume of black smoke rose from the area. Shattered glass littered the streets, which were mostly emptied because it was the first day of the Afghan weekend. Afghan police, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, crouched behind traffic barriers with guns ready as a light rain fell and shots sounded from multiple sides.
