Afghan police stand guard among damaged buildings following a terrorist attack in Ghazni province on Thursday.
The Taliban struck a government compound in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday in a dawn attack that included two suicide truck bombings, killing at least 12 people, including 10 police officers sleeping in their neighborhoods nearby.
The attack followed a strong message from the Taliban to world leaders gathered at a NATO summit in Wales, which will also discuss scaling back the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan.
The withdrawal of all foreign combat troops at the end of the year is proof that “no nation is capable of subjugating a free nation, especially a proud and free nation like Afghanistan,” the Taliban note said.
Thursday’s attack began at dawn when the Taliban detonated two powerful suicide truck bombs near a government compound in the provincial capital of Ghazni, followed by an attack by nearly a dozen militants.
The attack sparked a shootout with police and security forces inside the compound, killing all 21 attackers, including two suicide bombers, according to the Interior Ministry. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent to the media.
The bombs shattered many windows across the city and injured about 200 people, mostly from flying glass, Ghazni Governor Musa Khan Akbarzad said. According to him, one truck made a 10-meter hole in the ground. The Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated the number of wounded at 130 people.
Unfortunately, the explosions also destroyed the Ghazni city library and two museums, the governor said.
One of the trucks packed with explosives in the Ghazni attack targeted the local ISI office and another targeted police sleeping quarters, according to the Interior Ministry. Seventeen police officers were injured. The Interior Ministry said two civilians were also killed.
The Taliban regularly launch brazen attacks against Afghan forces and government institutions. In July, a suicide car bomber blew up a busy mosque and market in the eastern province of Paktika, killing at least 89 people.
Published – Sep 4, 2014 5:21 pm EST.