KABUL—Insurgents Monday stormed the traffic-department headquarters in Kabul, using the compound to target nearby Afghan police headquarters and setting off a gun battle that continued for hours.
At least three and possibly as many as six insurgents staged Monday's attack, driving an explosives-laden car to the traffic-department gate and detonating it at dawn. This breach allowed the insurgents to storm the compound and occupy the structure's top floors, from which they were rained bullets and rocket-propelled grenades on Afghan security forces.
Reuters
An Afghan police officer watching members of the security forces on the roof of Kabul traffic-department headquarters, which was attacked by insurgents Monday morning.
As Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops rushed to the scene, the traffic department—which houses the city's car-registration records—caught fire, sending smoke rising in the air. Coalition special-operations forces could be seen on the roof of a mosque under construction in the area, firing rockets into the traffic-department building.
A police official said at least one officer was killed and 11 injured in Monday's attack so far. But the Interior Ministry spokesman said he had no information on fatalities. A number of civilians were also injured.
The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, saying many of its fighters were engaging with government forces.
Monday's attack came five days after a Taliban suicide bombing that rocked Kabul's intelligence agency compound, killing at least one and wounding at least 32 people. That blast mangled the entrance to the intelligence agency, on one of Kabul's busiest streets.
"Whenever we get a chance we will strike the enemy, whether it's twice in a week or twice in a day," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. "We want to show the enemy that they can't be in peace even for a single night."
The traffic-department building that the Taliban targeted Monday is a fortified structure that provides a bird's-eye view on neighboring government buildings, including the adjacent Afghan police headquarters. The department also sits on a main road between downtown Kabul—where many Afghan officials live—and parliament and key ministries.
The attack began around 6 a.m. when a car filled with explosives was detonated at the gates of the traffic department, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said in a telephone interview. Two insurgents then began firing on traffic-department guards, prompting police stationed at a heavily guarded adjacent roundabout to rush to the scene and shoot down the two.
Mr. Sediqqi said at least two insurgents were killed and there were possibly two more attackers holed up in the traffic department firing RPGs at security forces on the ground and at police headquarters nearby. The Interior Ministry's specially trained Crisis Response Unit was currently raiding the traffic department floor by floor, Mr. Sediqqi said, to flush out remaining insurgents.
"If there's anyone left, they'll try to detain them or shoot them in the head," Mr. Sediqqi said. He added that the Taliban regards the traffic police as "soft targets"—unlike their counterparts at other Interior Ministry units, they are unarmed.
"Since the Taliban know that they will be killed immediately if they attack any other police post, they knew this building would be good for them to grab media headlines," Mr. Sediqqi added.
International forces arrived on the scene of the attack to assist Afghan security forces as they raided the compound to flush insurgents out, said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Josh Wood, a coalition spokesman in Kabul. He could not elaborate on the type of assistance international forces were providing.
At the scene of the attack, shattered glass from the explosion littered the ground as gunshots continued to ring out. At least 120 policemen encircled the building and firefighters were trying to put out the fire.
A young Afghan came to inquire about the whereabouts of his brother, a traffic-department employee, and broke down in tears when police told him he was killed by insurgent fire. He quickly grew hysterical, fighting bystanders and hurling insults at Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the government.
"If Karzai can't manage the government, just give it to the Americans," said the aggrieved man, who didn't give his name. "We want peace and stability. My brother had six children. Who will feed them now?"
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