Kabul Under Attack

AP (above) & AFP/Getty Images

By Nader Uskowi

1:55 pm Kabul Time

Kabul – Gun battles are raging in downtown Kabul after the Taliban launched a brazen attack at 9:30 am on Monday on government buildings at the heart of the most heavily guarded part of Kabul. The coordinated attacks started when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the presidential palace. Other Taliban bombers and militants rushed into and occupied a nearby multi-story shopping mall, Foroshgah Bozerg-e Afghan, and started targeting the government ministries from their positions inside the building. The building is now on fire. Another suicide bomber blew himself up outside another shopping center about half a mile away, reportedly killing and wounding number of security officers. Afghan security forces have cordoned off the city center and are taking on the militants in gun battles. The streets in city center are deserted. There are reports of three dead and 28 wounded, including civilian bystanders.

Today’s attack is the broadest assault on Afghan government since the fall of Taliban. Assaulting so many targets at once is unprecedented.