Casualties as Taliban let bombers loose on Kabul

In a daring push, bombers with the Taliban militant group have staged back-to-back attacks against separate highly-secured locations in the Afghan capital Kabul.

The attacks rocked a police precinct in western Kabul and the building of National Directorate of Security, which is Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, AFP reported.

The first assault, which saw a bomber detonate explosives planted on a vehicle, was followed by an exchange of fire between the militants and law enforcement agents.

According to the Interior Ministry, the second blast happened shortly afterwards.

Ministry spokesman Najibullah Danish said, “There are casualties from the first attack and we also have reports of gunfights, but at this stage we cannot confirm whether it is a complex attack.”

The Afghan Health Ministry said 18 wounded people, some of them seriously, had so far been taken to hospitals, adding, “More casualties are expected as the ambulances are on their way.”