Blasts, Gunfire rocks Kandahar, 21 killed

[کیش]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110212/...as_afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Taliban insurgents armed with bombs, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Kandahar [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]police [COLOR=#366388 !important]headquarters[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] Saturday during a bloody assault on the southern Afghan city that killed at least 21 people and wounded dozens more.
The bold afternoon raid showed insurgents are still able to launch deadly strikes on heavily fortified government institutions despite the past year's influx of U.S. troops into Kandahar province, the Taliban's birthplace. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Fifteen of those killed were Afghan police officers, said provincial Governor Toryalai Wesa. [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]Interior [COLOR=#366388 !important]Ministry [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]spokesman [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]Zemeri [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]Bashary[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] said three Afghan soldiers, two civilians and one intelligence service agent also died in the assault.
Insurgents first struck around noon, detonating a series of explosions that rocked the area near the provincial police headquarters. The police post is located in central Kandahar, not far from the governor's offices.
Initial reports suggest a car bomb exploded outside the police compound, and then immediately afterward two suicide bombers tried to storm the headquarters but blew themselves up outside the perimeter wall, according to NATO officials in Kandahar.
Five militants fitted with suicide vests battled with police for several hours, Bashary said.
Some occupied a multistory building housing a wedding hall across the street from the headquarters. From there, they fired on the police headquarters compound with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
An Associated Press reporter nearby said multiple explosions rocked the neighborhood around the station. Exchanges of gunfire occasionally died down, only to pick up again several minutes later.
Residents quickly shuttered shops and took cover inside as the fighting raged, and NATO vehicles could be seen inside the city. Helicopters hovered over the city as police deployed extra forces on the streets and around government buildings.
Several loud explosions again rattled buildings more than an hour after the first blast struck.
Bashary said 49 people were wounded — 25 police officers, 23 civilians and one intelligence agent.
Taliban spokesman [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]Qari [COLOR=#366388 !important]Yousef [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]Ahmadi[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] told The Associated Press the group was behind the attack.
He said the Taliban deployed six suicide bombers armed with hand-held weapons to various parts of the city, including a team of three to the site near the police headquarters. The claim could not be independently verified.
A NATO spokesman in Kabul said the multinational force was looking into reports of attacks in Kandahar, but he had no immediate report of coalition involvement.
Kandahar remains a hotbed of Taliban activity. Insurgents continue to attack officials and others who support pro-government forces. Late last month, a suicide bomber killed the [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]province's [COLOR=#366388 !important]deputy [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]governor[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR].
On Monday, a suicide bomber killed a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and wounded three other American customs workers when he detonated explosives inside a customs warehouse compound during a visit by NATO forces.
Photojournalist Giles Duley was critically wounded on Feb. 7 when he was struck by a roadside bomb while embedded with [COLOR=#366388 !important][COLOR=#366388 !important]U.S. [COLOR=#366388 !important]troops [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]in [/COLOR][COLOR=#366388 !important]Afghanistan[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], the U.K.-based photo agency Camera Press said in a statement Saturday.

The agency said Duley, 39, underwent emergency surgery in Kandahar and additional surgery in Britain after losing parts of multiple limbs.
Duley had planned to document the suffering of bomb victims in Afghanistan, but decided to embed with the U.S. Army when the opportunity arose, according to Camera Press. His work has appeared in magazines including Vogue, GQ, Esquire and Rolling Stone. He also has shot photos for humanitarian organizations including Doctors Without Borders and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
NATO declined to comment on the incident, citing operational policy.
U.S. and NATO commanders insist they are making progress in the fight against the Taliban and its allies. The U.S. hopes to solidify gains against insurgents as it prepares to begin drawing down forces in July. NATO aims to hand over responsibility for Afghanistan's security to local forces by 2014.
___ Schreck reported from Kabul. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Deb Riechmann in Kabul and Kathy Gannon in Kandahar contributed to this report.

NATO, is probably glad none of their soldiers got killed. NATO has increased the Afghan security forces to 110,000 more then last year. i bet they will love a civil war, while they slowly leave the country.

Also Americans loving the muslim on muslim violence

So where are all of the Afghans that should be out protesting the Taliban? They only seem to do that if Americans kill some civilians never when the Taliban does. Get US out of there now and let that backwards dump of a country rot.

kill 'em all. Bush rules. Obama sux.

elquida taliban koran or quran, any time you see a muslim word there is death and destruction coming.

just kill everyone in that s h it hole and leave.

BIG DEAL. This is like reporting how many people died on our highways today !!! It goes in one ear and out the other.SAME OLD CRAP, DIFFERENT DAY !!!!!!!!!

a muslim strikes again. Kill them all and let GOD sort them out.

[sahil112]

my mum is actualy on the phone to my dads freind right now, he works right opposite where this took place and he is saying every1 closed the shops gone home, firefight lasted long time he is sayin! damage is pretty big aswell
will update more after end of phonecall

[کیش]

my mum is actualy on the phone to my dads freind right now, he works right opposite where this took place and he is saying every1 closed the shops gone home, firefight lasted long time he is sayin! damage is pretty big aswell
will update more after end of phonecall

Please do hopefully, they was no damage to his shop

and RIP to all Afghans killed. from ANA/ANP/Taliban

[sahil112]

Please do hopefully, they was no damage to his shop

and RIP to all Afghans killed. from ANA/ANP/Taliban

no no damage done to his shop as his kota is pretty much deep inside the shopping center bit
and indeed RIP all of them.

[کیش]

no no damage done to his shop as his kota is pretty much deep inside the shopping center bit
and indeed RIP all of them.

Good to hear

I bet Americams are loving this. From this attack, to the one in KP which killed 30 Pakistani soldiers. They have increased the Afghan security forces so they can do the fighting, and get killed. I have notice NATO casualties have dropped, or not reporting it, even though attacks across the country has skyrocketed.

[sahil112]

ok phone card finished lol this is the full update:

the taliban fighters all had sucide vests on and 2 of them blew themselves up and there was 1 with a car, after that the rest run into the buliding and took over firing shots at the ana from the building, the ana called for air support and when that came they started firing into the building and also on the floor, apprently 56 civilains are dead becouse of the air support that was called in, all the taliban are dead except 1 who was shot but still alive and now been taken into custody.

so yh pretty messed up and now im angry over the air support killing innocents:@

[کیش]

^^^^ Wow that is completely different from what was reported on the article. and hopefully, the wounded Taliban fighter dies from his wounds, because if not, expect a long prison sentence.

[graveyardofempires]

i just heard on afghan tv news they said 1 person is dead and around 20 injured.

[graveyardofempires]

ok phone card finished lol this is the full update:

the taliban fighters all had sucide vests on and 2 of them blew themselves up and there was 1 with a car, after that the rest run into the buliding and took over firing shots at the ana from the building, the ana called for air support and when that came they started firing into the building and also on the floor, apprently 56 civilains are dead becouse of the air support that was called in, all the taliban are dead except 1 who was shot but still alive and now been taken into custody.

so yh pretty messed up and now im angry over the air support killing innocents:@

56 civilians dead?
on Afghan news(extremely biased) they said nothing about civilian deaths
and i also heard another news where foreign invaders handcuffed Afghan civilians laid them on the floor put a kampal on them threw diesel on them and than burned them alive.
i think it happend in helmand.
it was on tolo tv i guess,i have to ask again to verify

[graveyardofempires]

unknown i have to know for sure where this happend exactly happend
i,ll post it up inshallah

[کیش]

i just heard on afghan tv news they said 1 person is dead and around 20 injured.

What kind of bs news is that. Even in American media they reported 18 Afghan security forces killed, 2 civilians and a intelligence officer.

Unknown prince
You might think their not Muslims, but they do fast, pray, and recite the Kalimah.

[sahil112]

56 civilians dead?
on Afghan news(extremely biased) they said nothing about civilian deaths
and i also heard another news where foreign invaders handcuffed Afghan civilians laid them on the floor put a kampal on them threw diesel on them and than burned them alive.
i think it happend in helmand.
it was on tolo tv i guess,i have to ask again to verify

when air support opened fire there were still civlians on the ground and they got cought in the fire!

[کیش]

Here's Alemarah news on the incident. Obviously overblown

Breaking News: More Than 100 Enemy Personnel Killed And Wounded In Kandahar City Attack Feb. 12 – Today at around 12:00 pm, 5 heroes of Islamic Emirate (Mullah Abdullah, Mullah Abbdul Qudoose, Sher Agha, Mullah Malang along with their leader Mullah Sayed) wearing police uniforms and armed with heavy and light weapons entered Zaringar Khali Saloon (wedding hall) and started attacking the provincial police headquarters, located a few meters away. Mujahideen detonated 2 bombs, which shook the whole city as the attack started. The first one was a vehicle packed with explosives in the HQ’s car parking and the second blast was detonated on puppet police in Kabul Shah area as they arrived for help. Officials say that a third car bomb was detonated an hour later on US-NATO invaders and their puppets that had gathered outside the wedding hall and were planning an operation against the Mujahideen inside the hall.

Reports add that hundreds of invaders and their puppets were killed and wounded in the 7-hour long gun battle and deadly blasts, with 12 enemy military and logistical vehicles destroyed and the police headquarters badly damaged. It is said that the police commander of the HQ and all his friends were also killed in the assault. Mujahideen officials say that 3 of the Mujahideen involved in the assault were martyred (may Allah grant them the highest ranks in Jannah) and 2 came back out alive from the successful operation. It is worth mentioning that the stooge regime has also admitted that 18 puppet police have died and 23 others have been injured in the assault. The recent intensified Mujahideen operations, from which the deputy governor of Kandahar was also killed, clearly refutes the claims of the invaders and their stooge regime about achieving any success in Kandahar through their recent operation.