Taliban herdenkt 9/11: Zelfmoordaanslag NAVO-basis 100 gewonden

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Bij een zelfmoordaanslag op de NAVO-basis in Afghanistan zijn 100 gewonden en 2 doden gevallen. Onder hen ook 77 soldaten.

Het Amerikaanse leger maakte vandaag bekend het slachtoffer te zijn geworden van een zelfmoordaanslag in Afghanistan. Daarbij liet een zelfmoordterrorist een vrachtwagen aan de ingang van een legerbasis ontploffen. Bij de aanslag vielen twee doden, en 100 (zwaar) gewonden. Onder hen bevonden zich ook 77 soldaten van de internationale troepenmacht. De taliban hebben de aanslag opgeëist.

Raw Video: Afghan Attack Wounds 80 Americans

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Taliban attack across Kabul, target U.S. Embassy

(Reuters) - Taliban fighters fired rockets at the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul on Tuesday and attacked police in three other areas in the biggest assault the insurgent group has mounted on the Afghan capital.

At least 9 people were killed and 23 wounded in the four attacks, and a gun battle around a half-built high-rise building raged on into the evening as NATO and Afghan attack helicopters circled overhead.

The fighters had chosen a strategic and heavily fortified main target for the well-coordinated attacks.

Their ability to shower artillery around the diplomatic district was a clear show of strength at a time when NATO-led forces are claiming significant security gains and preparing for their exit by 2014.

Although the Taliban have attacked multiple targets in Kabul in the past, this is the first time they have organized simultaneous assaults on such separate areas.

"The scale of today's attack is unprecedented," said Andrew Exum, fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"There was almost certainly either a break-down in security among the Afghans with responsibility for Kabul or an intelligence failure."

A squad of about five insurgents took over a shopping center under construction on the outskirts of Kabul's diplomatic district armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, AK-47s and suicide vests.

Explosions were interspersed with gunfire all afternoon and several rockets landed in upmarket Wazir Akbar Khan district, near the British and other embassies. One hit a school bus but it appeared to have been empty at the time.

The gun battle around Abdul Haq square went on into the early evening, with three attackers killed and one or two still at large nearly eight hours after the assault began, the Interior Ministry said.

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Afghan peace council head Rabbani 'killed in attack'

The chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, has been killed in a bomb attack at his home in Kabul, officials told the BBC.

He was meeting two members of the Taliban at his home at the time of the blast, officials said. It is unclear if they were involved in the attack.

The High Peace Council leads Afghan efforts to negotiate with the Taliban.

Mr Rabbani is a former president of Afghanistan and also led the main political opposition in the country.

Unconfirmed reports say he may have been killed by a suicide attacker.

When the peace council was set up, Afghan President Hamid Karzai described it as the greatest hope for the Afghan people and called on the Taliban to seize the opportunity and help bring peace.

But many members of the council are former warlords who spent years fighting the Taliban and their inclusion led to doubts as to whether it could succeed in its mission.

Mr Rabbani recently spoke at a religious conference in Iran and called on Muslim scholars to speak out against suicide attacks.

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Night raids in Afghanistan 'provoke backlash'

By David Loyn - BBC News, Kabul

The number of night raids on civilian homes by international forces in Afghanistan has increased substantially, according to a study.

The Open Society Foundation found that although US forces had improved their practices, the five-fold increase in raids had caused a storm of protest.

The biggest grievance of the Afghan government against foreign forces is the civilian casualties they cause.

The foreign forces say the raids are a valuable weapon against the insurgents.

Despite the political pressure from Kabul, the number of people questioned in their homes in night raids has risen rapidly in the last two years, up five-fold between 2009 and 10 and increasing still further this year.

'Creates violence'

Researchers for the report from the Open Society Foundation assessed that in recent months there may have been 40 raids a night happening across Afghanistan.

They quote one Afghan as saying: "They claim to be against terrorists, but what they are doing is terrorism. It creates violence."

The raids are justified by international forces as a valuable tool in their fight against the Afghan insurgency, in gathering intelligence and arresting suspects.

The report found that international forces have improved their practices so that the Afghan government has more control and women are respected more.

But public recognition of these improvements has been overshadowed by mounting anger over the higher number of raids.

The report says that the increase in raids has provoked a backlash, marring Afghan relations with international partners and complicating long-term strategic discussions.