Militants have killed at least 43 people in an hours-long assault on a government compound. No group has claimed responsibility for the brazen attack that involved a suicide bombing and a hostage situation.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Gul
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At least 43people, mostly government employees, were killed during a coordinated militant raid on a government building in Kabul on Monday, Afghan authorities said.
Another 10 were wounded in the seven-hour standoff with police, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.
The brazen assault began in the afternoon when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a car outside the public works ministry. Within minutes of the powerful explosion three gunmen, armed with assault rifles and explosive devises, stormed the building of the National Authority for Disabled People and Martyrs' Families and took civilians hostage.
Afghan security forces evacuated more than 350 employees even as they engaged in a gun battle with the militants. Witnesses reported hearing at least five explosions as police and gunmen traded fire.
Police cordoned off the area as they went carefully from room to room and floor to floor to secure the building. All three gunmen were killed.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban militant group has carried out several attacks on government buildings in the past.
The US troops currently make up the bulk of the Resolute Support mission to train and advise Afghan forces fighting the Taliban and Islamic State (IS) militants.
More than 2,400 US troops have died in the 17-year-old war — the longest conflict in US history. At least 100,000 Afghans have died.
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
Image: picture alliance/Photoshot
Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
Image: Reuters/M. Ismail
A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Hossaini
Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
Image: Reuters
Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
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Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Shirzad
Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
Image: DW/H. Hamraz
Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
Image: Reuters/O.Sobhani
An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
