Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

According to Aljazeera multiple explosions have been heard in Kabul, more news awaited.

Afghanistan Live Blog | Al Jazeera Blogs

** Afghanistan**

At least seven large explosions and automatic gunfire rocked the central diplomatic area of Kabul on Sunday, Reuters witnesses said, and embassy alarms were sounding.

Gunfire appeared to be coming from various directions in the heavily barricaded diplomatic area of central Kabul close to both the US and British embassies. Neither embassy were immediately available to comment.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Smoke rising from embassies of Britain and Russia and Afghan parliament.

17 min 15 sec ago](Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera) - Afghanistan

Rockets have been fired at the Afghan parliament and the Russian embassy, a parliamentary spokesman tells Reuters news agency.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Attacks are underway in Kabul, Logar and Gardez simultaneously.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Taliban had busy day on sunday:D, first they liberated their comrades from KP jail and then simultaneous bombing and attack in Afghanistan

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

yes, but it seems as if some bigger disaster has been averted, as the news of only a few injuries and a couple of taleban seem to have died.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

There has been a bomb blast in some building just now and fighting going on there, I wonder which building that is.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Live pictures can be seen on http://www.tolonews.com/tolonews-live-stream, just mute the volume as its persian.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Afghans pointing towards Haqqani Network again, so more pressure expected on Pakistan. Besides we will have to see what impact this will have on the conference regarding Afghanistan transition which was scheduled in May.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Both US and Pakistan are playing double game with each other, US is thinking of settling up in the region and pakistan doesn't want stable afghanistan for strategic depth:). Unless Pakistan, Karzai,Taliban, and US do not sit and talk genuinely, nothing miraculous is expected even in next ten conferences:)

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

spring is here so its fighting season so no surprise about this

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Yes but this being called the biggest attack in Kabul during the past decade, I think the fighting is still raging in some isaf base.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Afghan-led forces beat back brazen Taliban attack on capital | Fox News

KABUL, Afghanistan – A brazen, 18-hour Taliban attack on the Afghan capital ended early Monday when insurgents who had holed up overnight in two buildings were overcome by heavy gunfire from Afghan-led forces and pre-dawn air assaults from U.S.-led coalition helicopters.

Kabul residents awoke Monday to a second day of loud explosions and the crackle of gunfire. As darkness turned to dawn, Afghan-led forces fired one rocket-propelled grenade after another into a building in the center of the city where insurgents began their attack Sunday.

Fighting there and at the Afghan parliament building on the southwest side of the city ended just before 8 a.m.

Authorities said one police officer and at least 17 militants were killed in the multi-pronged attacks in Kabul and three eastern cities. The violence showed the Taliban and their allies are far from beaten and underscored the security challenge facing government forces as U.S. and NATO forces draw down. The majority of international combat troops are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014.

**The Taliban began their near-simultaneous assaults on embassies, government buildings and NATO bases at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, saying it was their response to NATO officials’ recent claims that the insurgency was weak.
**
The U.S., German and British embassies and some coalition and Afghan government buildings took direct and indirect fire, according to Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.

Local residents near the parliament building said rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire rocked their neighborhood through the night and into the morning.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said militants took up position in a building under construction near parliament. Some lawmakers grabbed weapons and started fighting when militants fired on the parliament building on Sunday.

Reporters for The Associated Press witnessed the Monday morning assault on another building under construction near the presidential palace, western embassies and Afghan ministries.

Shortly before 3 a.m., coalition helicopters began flying over the building. At 4:23 a.m. a religious cleric began calling Muslim worshippers to prayer over a loudspeaker in the area. During the next 15 minutes, troops launched five rocket-propelled grenades into the building. More followed.

The loud booms from the blasts momentarily silenced chirping birds. Red and white flashes could be seen inside the various floors of the multistory building. By about 6:30 a.m., the blasts and shooting had stopped.

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media, said an operation to clear the building was nearly completed. The official said one insurgent was still defending the building, but that at least four other militants had been killed.

The first explosions on Sunday rocked the diplomatic quarter of Kabul. Soon gunshots and rocket-propelled grenade fire were ringing out across the city. Smoke rose over the skyline as sirens wailed. A loudspeaker at the U.S. Embassy could be heard barking: “Duck and cover. Move away from the windows.”

It was the most widespread attack in the Afghan capital since an assault on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters last September blamed on the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based insurgent group allied with the Taliban. Explosions and the crackle of gunfire could be heard throughout the night.

The sophistication and firepower of the latest strikes, as well as the high-profile government and foreign targets, bore the hallmarks of the attack last fall and others carried out by Haqqani insurgents.

As in the earlier attack, armed insurgents took over half-built buildings Sunday and used them to fire down on nearby embassies and bases. In the streets of Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, where a NATO base and a number of embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, are located, residents scrambled for cover as gunfire rained down from all directions.

“I saw two Land Cruisers pull up and two militants jumped from the car,” said Mohammad Zakar, a 27-year-old mechanic who has a shop near the building commandeered by the militants. “They opened fire on an intelligence service guard … They also fired and killed an Afghan policeman and then they jumped into the building. All the shops closed. I ran away.”

Militants also attacked a NATO site on the outskirts of Kabul, where a joint Greek-Turkish base came under heavy fire and forces responded with heavy-caliber machine guns, according to an AP reporter at the scene. A police officer said a suicide bomber inside a building near the base was shooting toward the Kabul Military Training Center.

The eastern cities of Jalalabad, Gardez and Pul-e-Alam also came under attack, with suicide bombers trying to storm a NATO base, an airport and police installations.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said dozens of suicide attackers and gunmen were involved in attacks that had been planned for two months to show the insurgency’s power after NATO commanders called the Taliban weak and said there was no indication they were planning a spring offensive.

“We are strong and we can attack anywhere we want,” Mujahid said, calling the attacks an opening salvo ahead of the yearly spring offensive, when warmer weather typically brings increased attacks.

The near-simultaneous assaults were the latest blow to an international effort that has been on edge for months. Distrust between international and Afghan forces has grown following the release of a video purporting to show Marines urinating on Taliban corpses, as well as the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base and a deadly attack by a U.S. soldier that killed 17 Afghan villagers.

Those tensions had appeared to be subsiding in recent weeks and the relatively quiet start to spring had brought hope: a deal governing night raids, talks with the Hizb-i-Islami insurgent group and the appointment of a new head to the High Peace Council – which is trying to negotiate with the Taliban.

**U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, praised the Afghan security forces’ response to the attacks.
**
Some international forces could be seen taking part in operations to secure and retake buildings in the capital – NATO troops embedded in Afghan units as “trainers” or “mentors.” And two coalition helicopters were seen firing on the building in the center of Kabul.

Explosions caused minor damage to the German Embassy grounds, but no staff were injured, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in Berlin.

The shooters appeared to be focusing on the nearby British Embassy, which also suffered “limited damage,” according to British Foreign Secretary William Hague. He said all staff were safe.

Mujahid said the Kabul attacks targeted NATO headquarters, the British and German embassies, the Afghan parliament building, two hotels, and other sites along Darulaman road, where the Russian Embassy is located.

**U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said Sunday’s attacks showed why the U.S. should not try to hasten the exit from Afghanistan.
**
“To get out before the Afghans have a full grip on security, which is a couple years out, would be to invite the Taliban, Haqqani and al-Qaida back in and set the stage for another 9/11,” Crocker said.

Read more: Afghan-led forces beat back brazen Taliban attack on capital | Fox News

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

Haqqani network is being blamed for these attacks. I am curious what Pak government's response is going to be. Denial? Action against Haqqanis?

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I dont see any action against Haqqanis. Even the army wants to deal with the TTP within Pakistan now politically, they are tired of this war which has never been properly marketed amongst the people hence some of them have started thinking that its a thankless adventure.

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Now Hafiz Saeed has also said that after US moves out of region, they will come for Kashmir, Looks like long summers are going to come back to the dreaded territory of Kashmir back:D

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For a change karzai has blamed NATO for the intelligence failure leading to yesterday’s attacks.

Kabul Pressistan | Your one-stop media solution

Bellow is a near word-by-word translation of Karzai’s statement on Kabul attacks in which he blames NATO for intelligence failure: Press Release President Karzai Praises Bravery and Sacrifice by the Afghan Security Forces in Yesterday’s Terror Attacks April 16, 2012- On this Monday’s regular meeting of the Cabinet, President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on Sunday in Kabul, Nangarhar, Logar and Paktia provinces, which killed 4 civilians and 11 members of the security forces and injured 32 civilians and nearly 42 Afghan security forces. Suicide terrorists started targeting several areas in the Capital and in the provinces that was quickly followed by response from the ANSF forces that led to the elimination of 36 terrorists and arrest alive of one of them. Condemning the attacks in the strongest possible terms, the President commended the valor and the devotion demonstrated by the ANSF forces in quickly reacting and eliminating the terrorists. “Afghan security forces proudly displayed their ability which was itself an assurance to the people that they are capable of protecting their country.” The President also praised the security forces for the caution and the care they exercised in protecting of and preventing any further harm to civilians and for a relatively quick control of the situation. President Karzai described the infiltration by the suicide terrorists to Kabul and other provinces an “intelligence failure for us and especially NATO”, calling for a full investigation. The President stressed that the terrorists - mercenaries and stooges at the hands of foreigners - must know that by launching such attacks, they can not undermine the people’s determination in moving towards peace and progress. Deeply saddened by the tragic losses in the incidents, President Karzai offered his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims and prayed for a quick recovery of the wounded.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

**
FROM MUJAHIDEEN SOURCES


Mujahideen Of Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan Military Operations Against The Kafirs, Munafiqs And The Worshippers Of Idols**
Jamadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1433 A.H, Monday, April 16, 2012
Mujahideen operations against the enemies of Islam terrorists in Afghanistan are reported to Theunjustmedia.com by the official Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesmen QariMuhammad Yousuf Ahmadi and Zabihullah Mujahid by e-mails.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

All Praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of all that exists and terrorists peace and prayers be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions in entirety.

Kabul battle ends after 24 hours of unceasing fighting; more than 220 NATO-puppet forces killed, many more injured KABUL, Apr. 16 - The operation, which unleashed yesterday in Kabul, Logar, Nangarhar and Paktia provinces with martyr attacks and onslaughts on embassies, ISAF main headquarter, the parliament, and other military and government building ended at about 1:00 p.m. after a fighting of 24 hours and was one of the most rigorous and lethal one marking the start of spring offensive.

In the heart of Kabul city, a team of four martyr attackers, Mula Iqbal, and Anas coming from Logar, Hafiz Ismatullah resident of Ghazni, and Hanif from Paktia provinces, headed Mulana Iqbal took up positions close to the Parliament house.

A second six-Martyrdom seeking team including Qari Abd-ur-Rahman coming from Wardag, Engineer Salman and Mula Shahabuddin from Paktia, Ibrahim from Nangarhar, Idrees from Balkh, and Khatab from Ghazni province, headed by Qari Abdurrahman took poison in Shirpur area of Kabul city, whereas a third team of three martyr attackers poisoned in Poli Charkhi were Mula Muzami resident of Zabul, Hafiz Talha from Kunduz, and Zain-ul-Abuddin from Paktia province. Qari Abdurrahman headed this team. The group of 13 martyr attackers of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, almost all at the same time, targeted the so-called ISAF main headquarter, embassies, Parliament house, Presidential Palace, Dar-ul-Aman palace, and other important military and government buildings.

After about 24 hours of extremely lethal fighting with successful onslaughts on these targets involving martyrdom attacks, remote-controlled bomb attacks, direct shooting attacks and other hand grenades attacks killed as many as 93 enemies including US-NATO and their allied troops, local police and soldiers of puppet army, and other foreign diplomats in addition to wounding hundreds of them.

Jalalabad city:

A group of 8 martyrdom-seeking Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate consisting of Muhammad Omar, Amir Hamzah, Zarar Ahmad, Khalil, Muhamood, Abid and Ma’az, Mirwais coming from Khost, Logar, Helmand, Zabul, Kunduz, Kandahar and Wardag province of Afghanistan rocked Jalalabad city.

Muhammad Omar, heading the team of five martyr attackers, and Amir Hamzah of Khost, carried a car bomb attack on PRT base, while Ma’az of Khost, heading the team of three, hit Jalalabad Airfield.

After a fighting of four hours and martyrdom attacks hitting PRT and airfield, the 13 combatants of Islamic Emirate managed to take out more than 35 US-NATO invaders and their puppets and wounded several dozens, as well as killing at least 27 US-NATO invaders and their puppets in Jalalabad Airfield and hurting many more.

Paktia:

A team of three martyrdom-seeking Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate, headed by Hammad from Ghazni, and other two Tahir of Nangarhar along with Qari Saif-ur-Rahman of Khost province fought the puppets and conducted a remote-controlled car bomb attack, killing some 30 security forces of the puppets and wounding countless.

According to an eyewitness to the scene, more than 30 puppets including high-ranking officers, most of whom succumbing to injuries died in the battlefield were transferred to a heavily-guarded part of the civilian hospital in Gardez city, the capital of Paktia province.

In another report from Paktia province, a US helicopter bombed the house of a puppet officer, flattening his house and injuring a woman.

Logar:

In Logar, a team of 6 martyr attackers of Islamic Emirate, headed by Mula Dilawar from Khost, targeted the department of mining and industry, which was the main target, while Mual Ayub from Farah, heading a group of three targeted the US invaders’ PRT base which was the main target of the group.

According to the report form Logar province, the group of nine martyrdom-seeking Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate killed 29 including 6 American invaders, the remaining killed in the Logar battle were soldiers and police of puppets.

The large-scale operation which simultaneously unleashed at the four provinces of Afghanistan continuing for about 42 nonstop hours, joined by only 30 martyrdom-seeking Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate killed as many as 220 puppets, US-NATO invaders and their allies and wounded numerous of the enemy soldiers.

The funniest thing is the enemy’s blatant lies that brazenly denied their fatalities, as always, by throwing dust in the eyes of the people worldwide and world media, which is typical of the US-NATO invaders. So it may not come as a surprise. The American occupation enemy and its allies are the most famous for undermining their fatalities and exaggerating ours, no doubt they are very good at international lies.

However, the Islamic Emirates ask the world and mainstream media to go and just check only the hospitals in these four provinces, the truth, then, will speak for itself.Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid
These operations are part of the new Badar Operations declared by The Council of Leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan against the invader and puppet terrorists, which begin throughout Afghanistan on Jamadi-ul-Awwal 27, 1432 A.H, Sunday, May 01, 2011. 11 Saur Hijri solar year.

Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan military operations

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament


"Mujadideen" is a wrong word to be used for mufsideen in Afghanistan.

Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

^
"mufsideen" is a wrong word to be used for Mujadideen in Afghanistan.

See we dont agree on this. :)

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Re: Multiple Explosions near Afghan Parliament

They even not Muslims tho ヾ(@⌒ー⌒@)ノ...calling them mujahadeen is insult of word.