Asia-Pacific

At least 12 killed in attack in Kabul

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-26 14:32

At least 12 killed in attack in Kabul
Afghan National Army soldiers carry a victim from the site of a blast in Kabul February 26, 2010. A suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance to Kabul's biggest shopping centre early on Friday, Afghan police said, another brazen attack in the capital despite a renewed military push against the Taliban.[Agencies]

KABUL: At least 12 people, including three suicide bombers, were killed with three others wounded in an attack in Afghan capital Kabul on Friday morning, police said.

Two explosions blew up nearby City Center, a nine-story shopping building in downtown Kabul, about 6:40 am Friday morning, police said.

A group of militants then entered the shopping center and attempted to attack a nearby a hotel which foreigners frequented. The militants later exchanged gunfire with police who came and sieged the building.

Three suicide bombers were killed in the attack, an Afghan official who declined to be named told Xinhua.

The attack also claimed the lives of two Afghan policemen, said Sayed Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, head of Crime Investigation Department of Kabul police.

Seven civilians, including several foreigners, were also dead in the attack, according to the head of a military hospital.

Witnesses said one of the bombings struck an Indian guesthouse nearby City Center, killing several Indians.

The gunbattle was still going on, with explosions and gunshots heard in the area.

The attack is the first since January 18, when a group of militants attacked Afghan presidential palace and other government buildings, leaving 12 people, including seven attackers, dead.