Afghans tighten security in Kabul after attack

KABUL – Afghan forces tightened security in Kabul yesterday, a day after a brazen Taliban assault on the capital left 12 people, including seven militants, dead and raised concerns about the government’s ability to protect even urban centres.

Troops searched vehicles entering the city and increased the number of checkpoints, along with foot patrols and vehicle patrols, said deputy police chief Mohammad Khalil Dastyar.The streets were otherwise calm, and traffic was back to normal a day after the attack, which left many roads deserted except for security forces as terrified Afghans raced for cover from explosions and machine-gun fire that echoed across the city. Afghan forces along with Nato advisers managed to restore order after nearly five hours of fighting.The assault by a handful of determined militants dramatised the vulnerability of the Afghan capital, undermining public confidence in the ability of the government and its US-led allies to provide security. A handful of gunmen – perhaps fewer than a dozen – paralysed a city of four million for hours, forcing government ministries to stop work as police used the buildings for firing positions.Seven attackers either blew themselves up with suicide vests or died in fierce gunbattles. The civilian casualty toll, meanwhile, was relatively low – two, including one child. Three security forces also were killed.Most of the 71 people wounded suffered light injuries and all but three had been treated and released by yesterday, according to Said Kabir Amiri, who oversees hospitals in Kabul.Nato said the operation to secure the capital on Monday was Afghan-led, though it had explosives experts and other troops in supporting roles.New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key said yesterday that some of his country’s troops were caught up in the fight.’A small element of the SAS (special air service commandos) were among those who took up positions close to the incident,’ Key told reporters, adding their involvement was very limited. ‘They were quite a long way back from the building (where insurgents holed up) as I understand it.’Nato military chief Admiral James Stavridis, who arrived in Kabul for a visit on Monday as the attack was under way, lauded the Afghans for successfully containing the violence.’Afghan national security forces effectively countered an insurgent attack in downtown Kabul,’ he said in a statement, adding the coordinated effort ‘highlights their improved effectiveness in protecting Afghan citizens.’The attacks also sent a message that the mostly rural Taliban are prepared to strike at the heart of the Afghan state even as the United States and its international partners are rushing 37 000 reinforcements to join the eight-year war.It was the biggest assault on the capital since October 28, when three gunmen with automatic weapons and suicide vests stormed a guest house used by UN staff, killing at least 11 people including five UN workers. Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen also struck government buildings in the capital last February, killing more than 20 people.But Monday’s fighting persisted longer than any initiated by the Taliban in the capital since they were driven from power by the U.S. and its allies in 2001. – Nampa-AP