AFGHANISTAN: Kabul residents describe the horror of Taliban's assault on their capital

Record ID: 288040

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN: Kabul residents describe the horror of Taliban's assault on their capital
  • Date: 19th January 2010
  • Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (JANUARY 18, 2010) (REUTERS) FIREFIGHTER PUTTING OUT FIRE AT SHOPPING CENTRE ATTACKED BY MILITANTS SMASHED WINDOWS AND DEBRIS ON THE STREET NEAR THE SHOPPING CENTRE AFGHAN ARMY SHOOTING AT THE BUILDING MORE ARMY ON THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING WHERE MILITANT WAS HIDDEN AFGHAN ARMY GUARDS OUTSIDE THE SHOPPING CENTRE BLOOD AND GRENADE AT THE SITE SHOPKEEPER ABDUL WAHAB REOPENING HIS SHOP AFTER RAID IS OVER (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) ABDUL WAHAB, SHOPKEEPER AT THE SHOPPING CENTRE, SAYING "When I opened my shop in the morning suddenly the attack started. I had to run away from the scene and I left all my goods here in the open area." HELICOPTER FLYING OVER THE SITE OF ATTACK POLICE STANDING NEAR DEBRIS (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) GHULAM SAKHI, RESIDENT OF KABUL, SAYING "We just want security in our country. We want to live here, we don't want to suffer every day from this kind of situation. If the government can not ensure the safety of people, they should tell us to leave this country." AFGHAN POLICE FORCE LINE UP AT SCENE OF ATTACK
  • Embargoed: 3rd February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Afghanistan
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA19RBH82RHVVM0VE5IX5KYFFXI
  • Story Text: Residents of Kabul, forced to flee brazen assault on the centre of their city, described their frustration and horror at the latest Afghan violence on Monday (January 18).
    Taliban gunmen launched several attacks on Kabul, with suicide bombers blowing themselves up at several locations and militants battling security forces from inside a shopping centre engulfed in flames.
    Abdul Wahab, who owns a store in the shopping centre where militants holed up, said the violence blew up out of nowhere.
    "When I opened my shop in the morning suddenly the attack started. I had to run away from the scene and I left all my goods here in the open area," he said.
    The insurgents failed in an apparent attempt to seize government buildings but demonstrated their ability to cause mayhem at a time when U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to rally support for an expanded military mission to fight them.
    Gunfire and loud explosions shook the city and a huge column of smoke poured out of the shopping centre, where gunmen battled security forces for hours. Sporadic fighting continued in some areas although President Hamid Karzai said the city was back under under control.
    Kabul resident Ghulam Sakhi described his frustration at the sudden attacks.
    "We just want security in our country. We want to live here, we don't want to suffer every day from this kind of situation. If the government can not ensure the safety of people, they should tell us to leave this country," he said.
    While the shopping centre siege was on, a suicide car bomber drove a vehicle painted as a military ambulance to another shopping mall nearby and blew it up, killing police and security officials. The government said it was not an official ambulance and denied it showed that fighters had infiltrated the army.
    The Taliban said 20 of their fighters were involved in the attacks, which they said targeted the presidential palace, justice ministry, ministry of mines and a presidential administrative building, all clustered in the city centre.
    Three members of the Afghan security forces and two civilians were killed and 71 people were wounded, the government said.
    The Defence Ministry said in a statement 10 attackers had been killed, although other officials gave slightly different figures, perhaps not counting bombers who blew themselves up.
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