Gunmen storm government building in Kabul, take hostages

Editor | December 24, 2018 | Middle East | No Comments

Gunmen stormed a government building in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Monday, taking civilians hostage as they fought a gun battle against Afghan soldiers, officials said.

The attack began in the afternoon when a suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Ministry of Public Works. Shooting followed, with hundreds of government employees trapped inside the building, said Interior Ministry official Nasrat Rahimi.

“There are still some hostages with the enemy and a clearance operation is ongoing,” he said.

Rahimi said two fighters had been killed but gunmen in a nearby government building were exchanging fire with security forces. A fourth attacker died in the car bomb explosion.

One had broken several bones after jumping from the third floor of a building to escape the attackers, an AFP correspondent at a hospital said. Another two were wounded by broken glass.

Flames rise from a government building after an explosion and attack by gunmen [Rahmat Gul/AP Photo]

Mushtaq Rahim, a security analyst based in Kabul, told Al Jazeera that he had passed by the area a few minutes after the attack took place.

“The blast took place just before staff left their offices for the day,” he said. “There’s a lot of smoke coming out of the area. A fire had broken out in the building where the ministry is placed.”

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest violence to rock the Afghan capital.

Several apartment buildings and a government public works department building are located in the same area of the eastern Kabul neighbourhood where the attack is under way.

Ashraf, a witness who works at the Ministry of Public Works and who goes by one name, said armed men inside the compound were exchanging gunfire with security forces.

“They are also firing at the NDS facility nearby,” he told AFP, referring to the Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security.

Monday’s attack was the biggest in Kabul since November 28 when the Talibandetonated a vehicle bomb outside the compound of British security firm G4S, killing at least 10 people and leaving a massive crater in the road.