Blasts, gunshots as Taliban raid Kabul diplomatic quarter

Multiple blasts and gunfire rocked Kabul’s diplomatic quarter as the Taliban pressed a deadly assault near the Spanish embassy in the early hours of Saturday, the latest high-profile insurgent attack. At least one person, a Spanish policeman, was confirmed dead in the ongoing raid, which comes just hours after President Ashraf Ghani voiced optimism that a peace process with the Islamist insurgent movement would resume within weeks.

It’s not finished. The attackers are still resisting.

Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi

The attack comes just days after President Ghani’s high-profile visit to Pakistan, where he shored up international support to restart peace talks with the Taliban. As Ghani held talks in Islamabad on Wednesday, at least 50 people were killed in a marathon Taliban siege in the southern city of Kandahar. As the country grappled with the aftermath, Afghanistan’s spy chief on Thursday quit his post, laying bare disagreements with Ghani over his diplomatic outreach to Pakistan, long blamed for nurturing the Taliban. The Taliban has been caught up with a bloody internal power struggle but it has nevertheless been able to mount well-coordinated attacks on targets across the country.

The mujahideen are making rapid military gains, capturing territory and destroying enemy centers. Expecting us to surrender and come for talks is foolishness.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid

Middle East Kabul