Taliban target Afghan intelligence agency in double truckbomb attack killing 18

Taliban target Afghan intelligence agency in double truck bomb attack killing 18 | Mail Online

Taliban cause devastation at Afghan intelligence agency with double truck bomb killing 18 andinjuring 150Taliban claims responsibility for dawn raid on Afghanistan's US-trained NationalDirectorate of Security building Terrorists detonated two truck bombs simultaneously before tryingto storm the NDS compound on footAfghan officials admit 18 soldiers, police officers and civilianswere killed in this morning's attack with 150 injuredTaliban admits today's attack was timed tocoincide with the opening of the Nato Summit in Celtic Manor, Wales

ByDarren Boyle for MailOnline

Published:04:55 EST, 4 September 2014 |Updated:12:03 EST, 4 September 2014

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The Taliban claimed responsibility today for a double truck bomb attack on Afghanistan's US trainedintelligence agency which killed 18 people and injuring 150.

The co-ordinated attack on the complex in Ghazni, central Afghanistan was the biggest Talibanoffensive in recent weeks.

Two trucks packed with explosives were used in the attack. One of the vehicles was parked outsidethe rear gate of the National Directorate of Security building, while the second truck was left outsidea police building containing a rapid reaction force.

Afghan security forces guard the area after the Taliban attacked the local headquarters ofAfghanistan's US trained intelligence agency in a dawn suicide attack

More than 150 people were wounded, mainly by flying glass after the twin powerful explosions thismorning which were claimed by the Taliban earlier this afternoon

Two trucks laden with explosives were detonated simultaneously during this morning's doublesuicide attack in Ghazni province in central Afghanistan

Both trucks were detonated simultaneously at sunrise before a group of Taliban attempted to stormboth buildings armed with rocket-propelled grenades, assault rifles and light machine guns.

One of the bombs left a ten-metre hole crater in the ground. The attack also destroyed the city'slibrary and two museums.

Provincial governor for the Ghazni region Musa Khan Akbarzada said that 19 Taliban were involvedin the atrocity.

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He said: 'The bombs were so powerful that many civilians were woundedbecause of falling roofs andshattering of windows in theirhomes.'

The attackers fought a gun battle with members of the US trained NDS as they tried to storm thecompound.

Dozens of the wounded were taken to a lone hospital inGhazni where doctors were forced to treatmany of them outside.

The attack in Ghazni, one of the provinces that surround thecapital city of Kabul, is the latest in aseries of offensiveslaunched by the Taliban in the summer fighting season.

The blast shattered windows in surrounding buildings injuring scores of civilians who had to betreated for their injuries in the street as the hospital was overwhelmed

Following the blasts, more than a dozen Taliban engaged Afghan security forces in the NDScompound in a fierce gun battle killing an estimated 19 insurgents

This latest attack is the second in less than a week following a similar bombing on Afghangovernment institutions in the eastern city of Jalalabad

Insurgents have carried out complex attacks on governmentinstallations, including in Logar andWardak provinces which arethe gateways to the heavily guarded national capital.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibilityfor the attack and said dozens ofAfghan soldiers were killed.

'It is a success for us and failure to our enemies that theydidn't even notice how our fighters in bignumbers reached theintelligence agency with explosive-laden cars and carried outattacks.'

He added: 'Their 13-year-old occupation is now seen as a historical shame. It was planned thatAfghanistan's next leader would participate in the Wales Summit. Now their plans have come tonaught.'

The attack on the NDS was the second in less than a weekafter a similar bombing in the eastern cityof Jalalabad.

An Afghan solider takes cover behind a wall in the aftermath of this morning's deadly attack asforces loyal to the government attempt to secure the area

Two Afghan soldiers help an injured colleague towards medics who are forced to treat patients inthe open because of the high number of casualties

An Afghan solider stands guard at the site of one of the explosions, near a massive crater. Thepowerful blast ripped a 20 metre hole in a wall protecting the compound

Afghan officials have in the past blamed such truck bombingsnear the capital and in Kabul itself onthe Haqqani network, oneof the deadliest Taliban factions.

The network based along the border with Pakistan is believedto be behind some of the mostaudacious attacks in Kabulincluding the bombing of the Indian embassy and the 2011 attackon theUS embassy.

A prolonged political deadlock over a disputed presidentialelection has added to anxiety over thethreat posed by theTaliban once most foreign combat forces leave by the end of thisyear.

The troubled political transition has led to a prolongeddelay in signing a security pact with theUnited Statesgoverning how many troops will remain.

The deadly attack destroyed the library in Ghazni as well as two museums and caused extensivepurchase heart rate monitor watch damage to surrounding houses and businesses

The compound was targeted by the Taliban as the issue of Afghanistan was due to be discussedbriefly during today's Nato summit in Wales

Afghan government officials believe that 19 Taliban gunmen were killed by defending troops duringthis morning's dawn raid

The twin explosions caused extensive damage to the outer cordon of the Government compound inGhanzi, ripping apart 40 foot long storage containers

Afghan troops defending the compound were able to repel the attackers after the initial explosionsusing some of their American supplied equipment, pictured

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