World | Afghanistan
Eleven Taliban bombers attack government buildings in Afghanistan
Eleven suicide bombers attacked government buildings in east Afghanistan early on Tuesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 22:52 May 12, 2009
Kabul: Eleven Taliban suicide bombers attacked government buildings in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, sparking running gunbattles that killed at least 20 people and wounded three US troops, officials said.
US and Afghan troops freed 20 hostages taken by the insurgents.
The assault began at around 10am, when a suicide bomber attacked the governor's compound in Khost, an eastern city on the border with Pakistan that houses a major American base. That blast was followed soon after by a suicide car bomb explosion, said Wazir Pacha, the spokesman for the provincial police chief.
US forces attending a nearby meeting responded to the attacks and killed an unknown number of militants, said Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker, a US military spokeswoman.
Khost residents hid from booming explosions and running street clashes that lasted until 5pm. At least eleven insurgents and nine others - including police and civilians - died, the Defence Ministry said.
The Obama administration hopes to reverse that momentum and has implemented a new strategy for the region. As part of that plan, the Pentagon fired General David McKiernan, the top US commander in the country, on Monday and replaced him with a former leader of special forces.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed that 30 suicide bombers had attacked the government buildings. A US spokesman summed up the chaos in the midst of battle: "A lot of stuff is going on right now".
Militants in recent months have carried out an increasing number of complex attacks that involved several assailants.
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