Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.
Kabul, Afghanistan – Insurgents launched a complex assault against the American Embassy and the nearby NATO headquarters on Tuesday, pelting the heavily guarded compounds with rockets in an attack that raised new questions about the security of Afghanistan’s capital and the Westerners working there.
At least 10 explosions — apparently from rockets launched by militants — and waves of automatic weapons fire were reported amid the drone of sirens and English-language warnings telling Americans inside the embassy to take cover.
Sediq Sediqi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that two attackers had been killed, as had one policeman. At about 4 p.m. local time, three attackers were believed to be still fighting. Kerri Hannan, a spokeswoman for the American Embassy, said that no embassy personnel had been hurt.
It was unclear precisely how many assailants were behind the assault or whether they were attacking from a single or multiple locations. The attackers were holed up on several floors of a tall, partly built concrete building that offered a bird’s-eye view of the secured diplomatic and military compounds about a half mile away. Flashes from gun barrels could be seen as the militants fired from their perch. Afghan security forces returned fire from the ground, sending puffs of concrete dust into the air as bullets slapped the building.
“We don’t know how many suicide bombers are in the building,” said Col. Abdul Zahir, of the criminal investigative division of the Kabul police. “They’re shooting at the embassy. We’re still in fighting position. We can’t say anything.”
Two explosions were also reported near the Afghan Parliament, but it was unclear whether militants were specifically trying to attack the government building or other targets.
The embassy assault, which began around 1:15 p.m., was the latest in a string of attacks that have chipped away at a tenuous sense of security in the capital. In August, militants killed eight people in an attack on a British cultural center, and in June, nine suicide bombers breached layers of security to attack the hillside Intercontinental Hotel.
By 3:10 p.m., two Blackhawk helicopters circled the building, but did not immediately open fire.
The streets surrounding the site of the attack, normally choked with the traffic of minibuses, bicycles and Toyotas, were deserted on Monday afternoon of all but security forces and people racing for cover.
“We don’t know what’s happening,” one Afghan soldier said. “Everywhere you can hear shooting.”
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message, saying the Taliban had set out to attack the embassy, a NATO base and Afghan government buildings. His claim could not be immediately confirmed.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed there were continuing attacks against the embassy and ISAF headquarters, and said in a Twitter message there were “forces responding quickly,” but provided no other details. The attack came less than two months after Afghan forces assumed formal responsibility for security in the capital, one of several corners of the country where security was officially handed over in July.
Sharifullah Sahak and Ray Rivera contributed reporting.
This article, “Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Embassy in Kabul,” originally appeared at the New York Times.
Important Message: Please Read
For 25 years, Truthout has survived by publishing impactful investigative journalism and analysis; distributing full editions 365 days a year; and building a community of readers who support us with small, hard-earned donations.
Eighty percent of our $3 million yearly budget comes from small donors alone. Of those, 8,000 readers support us with monthly donations. Back in 2018, when Facebook decided to suppress the circulation of posts made by organizations, thereby cutting readers off from seeing many articles shared by the news organizations they had intentionally decided to follow, Truthout’s total traffic declined by 40 percent, as nearly all of our traffic from that platform disappeared.
As Google plans to roll out its new AI search bar, providing shoddy AI summaries instead of directing readers to our site, the consequences promise to be even more explosive. Google Search is our single largest source of traffic; it’s the route by which 27 percent of our readers find us. If even half of that 27 percent disappears, it will have a devastating impact on our journalism.
The entire journalism ecosystem will shoulder this blow, particularly independent publishers and news sites that depend on traffic and aren’t bankrolled by large corporations. If you can support Truthout with a donation today, you can help us resist the inevitability of Big Tech’s AI takeover. Please give today.