28 Dead and 200 Wounded In Suicide Car Bomb Attack In Kabul, Claimed By Taliban

Taliban militants attacked an office of Afghanistan's main security agency with a suicide car bomb and gunfire today, killing several people and wounding over 200, in their first assault on the capital since declaring a spring offensive.President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" in a statement from the presidential palace, only a few hundred metres away from the scene of the blast in central Kabul.

The attack began with a suicide car bomb during the height of the morning rush hour, and security forces and militants then exchanged gunfire, Reuters witnesses near the scene said.The brazen assault in a densely packed neighbourhood marks the first major Taliban attack in the Afghan capital since the insurgents announced the start of this year's fighting season.

The latest toll shows at least seven people have been killed and 327 others wounded," health ministry spokesman Mohammad Ismail Kawoosi told AFP.Most of those wounded are civilians and many are in a serious condition.Security officials said the loud explosion was triggered by a truck bomb, expressing concerns that other bombers may still be on the loose.

The Afghan interior ministry denounced the attack as a "war crime", pledging to track down the perpetrators.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed their fighters had managed to enter the offices of the National Directorate of Security, the main spy agency.Afghan officials dismissed those claims, saying that the target of the attack was a government office responsible for providing security to government VIPs.

Pitched gun battles were ongoing near the building, which was cordoned off by security officials as ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Puli Mahmood Khan neighbourhood of Kabul, as a result of which many of our countrymen were martyred and wounded," President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement.

Such cowardly terrorist attacks will not weaken the will and determination of Afghan security forces to fight against terrorism.The Taliban on Tuesday last week announced the start of their "spring offensive" even as the government in Kabul seeks to bring them back to the negotiating table to end the drawn-out conflict.
The Taliban warned they would "employ large-scale attacks on enemy positions across the country" during the offensive dubbed Operation Omari in honour of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar, whose death was announced last year.The insurgents began the fighting season last week by targeting the northern city of Kunduz, which they briefly captured last year in a stunning setback for Afghan forces.But officials said Afghan security forces drove Taliban fighters back from the city on Friday.The annual spring offensive normally marks the start of the "fighting season", though this past winter the lull was shorter and rebels continued to battle government forces, albeit with less intensity.The Taliban's resurgence has raised serious questions about Afghan forces' capacity to hold their own. An estimated 5,500 troops were killed last year, the worst-ever toll.Peace talks which began last summer were abruptly halted after it was revealed that Taliban leader Mullah Omar had been dead for two years, a disclosure which sparked infighting in the insurgents' ranks.
A four-country group comprising Afghanistan, the United States, China and Pakistan has been holding meetings since January aimed at jump-starting negotiations, though their efforts have so far been in vain.The Health Ministry said civilians and members of the Afghan security forces were among those caught in the attack, and several people had been killed and more than 200 wounded.
The Taliban announced the beginning of their spring offensive on April 12, and fighting has raged around the symbolically important northern city of Kunduz since then, although the capital had been relatively quiet.Kunduz, Afghanistan's fifth-largest city, fell briefly to the Taliban last September in the biggest blow to Ghani's government since NATO-led forces ended their combat operations at the end of 2014.
The Taliban said on their Pashto-language website that they had carried out the suicide bombing on "Department 10", an NDS unit which is responsible for protecting government ministers and VIPs.They said a suicide car bomber blew up the main gate at the front of the office, allowing other fighters, including more suicide bombers, to enter the heavily guarded compound.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a separate statement that the attackers were engaged in a gunbattle with Afghan security forces inside the building.
It was not immediately possible to verify the details of the Taliban's claim with government officials. The Islamist group often exaggerates details of attacks against government and military targets.The Taliban-led insurgency has gained strength since the withdrawal of most international combat troops, and the Taliban are believed to be stronger than at any point since they were driven from power by US-backed forces in 2001.
A thick plume of black smoke was seen rising from the area near the sprawling US embassy complex in the centre of Kabul immediately after the blast.Warning sirens blared out for some minutes from the embassy compound, which is also close to the headquarters of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.