News - Afghanistan

Attack on Kabul Embassy is ‘No Big Deal,' US Ambassador Crocker Says

The US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, said the attack on his embassy in Kabul and Isaf's headquarters was "not a very big deal."

The ambassador said that half a dozen rockets from 800 metres away amounted to "harassment" rather than an all-out offensive, and he praised the Afghan security forces for their handling of the situation.

"If that's the best [insurgents] can do, you know, I think it's actually a statement of their weakness," the ambassador said at a press conference in Kabul. "More importantly, since Kabul is in the hands of Afghan security, it's a real credit to the Afghan National Security Forces."

The 21-hours long siege was brought to an end on Wednesday morning, after Afghan security forces cleared the building floor by floor. They killed all six attackers who had installed themselves in the building to launch rockets at the US Embassy and Nato.

Eight people, including four afghan policemen, died in the attack, which also left 17 others wounded.

At least six rocket-propelled grenades landed in the embassy compound, Crocker said, admitting that it was "a hard day for the embassy and for my staff."

Crocker blamed the Haqqani network, a tribal-based group allied to the Taliban, which he said enjoyed a "safe haven" in the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan

13 September 2011 Afghanistan

Insurgents Attack Kabul with Rockets, Suicide Bombs 

A massive blast rocked Abdul Haq Square in Kabul at about 1.30pm today.

Moments after the explosion, gunmen stormed a half-constructed building near the square and fired rockets at the US Embassy and Nato’s headquarters. No casualties have been reported.  

Rockets landed at Street 13 in Wazir Akbar Khan and on a school bus.  

Afghan and foreign security forces engaged the insurgents.  

At about 3:30pm, a suicide bomber targeted the headquarters of the Border Police in the Dehmazang area of Kabul, claiming the lives of two police officers. Four others were reportedly injured.  

Another suicide attacker detonated his explosives near the headquarters of the 202 Shamshad Corps, a few hundred meters away from Habibia high school. Reports from the area suggested that one policeman died and five others, including three police officers, were wounded. Another suicide bomber was shot dead by security forces on the airport road.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks