Militants Attack U.N. Guest House in Kabul, Killing Nine

Militants Attack U.N. Guest House in Kabul, Killing Nine
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ALISSA J. RUBIN
Copyright by The Associated Press
Published: October 28, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/world/asia/29afghan.html?ref=global-home


KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban gunmen stormed a guest house in central Kabul on Wednesday morning, killing nine people, including six United Nations employees, two Afghan security officials and an Afghan civilian, according to police and U.N. officials.

Three attackers wearing suicide vests also were killed by the police, said Syed Abdul Ghafar, head of the criminal department of the Kabul police department.

Through a spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban took responsibility for the attack on the guest house, known as Bakhtar, which is often used by foreigners working for various United Nations agencies.

“This was a very serious incident against us this morning,” said a U.N. spokesman, Adrian Edwards, adding that the death toll from the attack could rise. The U.S. embassy in Kabul said that one American was among the dead, The Associated Press reported.

Mr. Mujahid said the attack was meant to warn people not to help in the Nov. 7 runoff presidential election between the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, and his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

“We have already informed that anyone who works for the second round will be targeted,” he said. “This is one of the attacks.”

He vowed there would be more attacks against election workers.

Mr. Mujahid said five Taliban fighters had staged the assault, and two had escaped. But the Kabul police official, Mr. Ghafar, said just three gunmen had entered the guest house, at 5:50 a.m., just before the morning call to prayer.

A rapid reaction force was deployed, Mr. Ghafar said, and the three attackers were killed within 45 minutes.

The gunmen, who were armed with grenades and AK-47 automatic rifles, did not detonate their explosive vests.

A house adjacent to the guest house is owned by a relative of Mr. Karzai, and there was speculation that the home might have been part of the assault plan as well. The surrounding neighborhood has many large homes and embassies.

“As far as I know, the guards responsible for the guest house are also responsible for the house of Karzai’s relative,” said a next-door neighbor, Mir Ahmad Formuli.

A doctor at the scene, Alem Asim, the director of the Kabul Ambulance Service, said his workers found two dead Afghans whom he identified as members of the Afghan security services. The workers also helped four injured people — a police officer, two intelligence officers and one person who appeared to be a civilian. A foreign citizen with bare feet, who was in shock, also was brought out of the building.

Dr. Asim said he was told by witnesses that at least seven attackers had entered the guest house.

Later Wednesday morning, a rocket struck the Serena, a luxury hotel, according to hotel security guards. There was no immediate information about any casualties.

The attacks came a day after eight Americans died in combat in southern Afghanistan, bringing October’s total to 53 and making it the deadliest month for Americans in the eight-year war. September and October were both deadlier months over all for NATO troops.

The eight service members, along with an Afghan interpreter accompanying them, were killed and an undisclosed number of troops were wounded in several attacks involving “multiple, complex” improvised bombs, according to a statement from the NATO-led coalition.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said Taliban fighters had blown up two armored vehicles carrying the troops near Zabul Province. He also said that the Taliban had engaged in a fierce firefight with the Afghan police in Zabul and killed eight officers. His claim could not be verified.

On Monday, two helicopter crashes killed 11 American service members and three drug enforcement agents, but hostile fire was almost certainly not a factor in those cases, according to a military spokesman.

The October toll of 53 American service members killed exceeds that of August, when 51 died, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks military losses in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The United States has been increasing the number of soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan, and many have gone into some of the toughest areas of the country. Southern Afghanistan has been the most contested ground, with both locally based insurgents and fighters that cross the border from Pakistan.

“A loss like this is extremely difficult for the families as well as for those who served alongside these brave service members,” said Capt. Jane Campbell of the Navy, a spokeswoman for the international troops.

President Obama is deliberating on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan and whether to undertake a full counterinsurgency strategy, which requires a larger commitment of resources. The American public is split on whether to send more troops.

Abdul Waheed Wafa contributed reporting from Kabul, Taimoor Shah from Kandahar, Anahad O’Connor from New York, and Mark McDonald from Hong Kong.