Afghan police: 12 dead in attack on UN in Kabul

[laststeamtrain]

Source: AP

Afghan police: 12 dead in attack on UN in Kabul
By RAHIM FAIEZ and AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writers 8 mins ago

KABUL – Taliban militants wearing suicide vests stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff — in the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election.

One of the six U.N. dead was an American, the U.S. Embassy said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the early morning assaults, which also included rocket attacks at the presidential palace and the city's main luxury hotel.

One rocket struck the "outer limit" of the presidential palace but caused no casualties, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said. Another slammed into the grounds of the Serena Hotel, which is favored by many foreigners.

The device failed to explode but filled the lobby with smoke, forcing guests and employees to flee to the basement, according to an Afghan witness who asked that his name not be used for security reasons.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re_as/as_afgh...

[saigon68]

1. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[Turborama]

2. Intense gunfire, explosion heard in central Kabul

Source: Reuters

Intense machinegun fire and an explosion resounded in central Kabul on Wednesday morning, but the cause of the firefight was unclear.

Sporadic gunfire was heard and plumes of black smoke rose above buildings in the Afghan capital.

A Reuters witness said a number of streets had been cordoned off by the police as the gunfire continued. Sirens reverberated in the capital.

An increasingly resurgent Taliban have vowed to stage attacks ahead of a second-round run-off in Afghanistan's presidential election on November 7.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE59R0AE200...

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Gunfire in central Kabul

Source: Al Jazeera English

Gunfire and explosions have been heard in central Kabul, as gunmen reportedly launched an attack in an area close to heavily-guarded government buildings.

A large column of smoke was seen over the centre of the city early on Wednesday morning as armed police jeeps and fire engines raced to the scene.

A police source has told Al Jazeera that the attack involved at least four Taliban fighters armed with AK-47 rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade.

It is unclear whether the fighting was centred on a US military base or a building that houses US military contractors.

Kabul has been on high alert for attacks from Taliban fighters as preparations continue for a runoff vote in the country's presidential election on November 7.

Al Jazeera producer Qais Azimy reporting from the Afghan capital said the scene of the attack is a high security zone and rarely sees attacks of this scale.

More soon…

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/10/20091028...

[New Dawn]

3. Situation normal.

[saigon68]

15. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[eleny]

4. Yunno, I wish Richard Engel would get out of there for a while

He's put in so much time in the ME that it feels like he's pushing the envelope.

[cal04]

5. U.N. spokesman says 3 staffers among the dead

Deadly firefight in Afghan capital
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33501858/ns/world_news-sout... /

Heavy gunfire has erupted at a guest house used by U.N. staff in Kabul, and Afghan police said five people were killed. A U.N. spokesman said 3 staff members were among the dead.

The fighting broke out Wednesday after dawn. The crackle of automatic gunfire reverberated through the streets.

U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards confirmed the guest house was used by U.N. staff. He didn't know how many international staff were living there.

[JanusAscending]

6. Lord, when I think of my grand daughter living in a tent over there..

it scares me to death! She is with her Army unit out of S.Carolina, and is an electronics specialist. That is the extent of what the family knows at this time.

[laststeamtrain]

18. My best wishes for positive outcomes for your grand daughter & you...

They also serve
Who only stand and wait. -- John Milton

[laststeamtrain]

19. My best wishes for positive outcomes for your grand daughter & you...

They also serve
Who only stand and wait. -- John Milton

[JanusAscending]

22. Thank you for your good wishes.

I always knew I liked something about that John Milton!

[burrowowl]

7. It is time to get the

FUCK OUT!

[burrowowl]

8. It is time to get the

FUCK OUT!

[maddezmom]

9. AP: Afghan police: 7 dead in attack on UN in Kabul

Afghan police: 7 dead in attack on UN in Kabul
By RAHIM FAIEZ and AMIR SHAH (AP) – 15 minutes ago

KABUL — Gunmen attacked a guest house used by U.N. staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul early Wednesday, killing at least seven people including three U.N. staff, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election.

Heavy gunfire reverberated through the streets shortly after dawn and a large plume of smoke rose over the city following the attack in the Shar-e-Naw district. Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman said seven people were killed, including some attackers.

U.N. spokesman Adrian Edwards confirmed that three U.N. staff were among the dead and one was seriously wounded. He said 20 U.N. staff were known to be registered there but he was unsure whether all were there at the time of the attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press, saying three militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the assault.

more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEq...

[Davis_X_Machina]

10. What's the Pashto for 'Tet'? n/t

[Turborama]

11. AJ English Update: Taliban Claim Kabul Attack

A spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan has told Al Jazeera that they carried out an attack on a United Nations guest house in the heart of the capital, Kabul.

The UN has said three of its staff were killed in the attack, although no other details have been released.

Reports said four others were also killed, including some of the attackers.

Hours after the attack on the guest house began, a five star hotel, The Serena, was also reported hit by either rocket or mortar fire.

=snip=

The hotel, located close to the presidential palace and used regularly by visiting diplomats and journalists, was the scene of a 2008 Taliban attack which killed six people.

High security

The attack early on Wednesday morning in central Kabul took place in a high security zone in the heart of the Afghan capital, close to several heavily-guarded government buildings.

More: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/10/20091028...

[Flaneur]

12. Militants Attack UN Guest House in Kabul, Killing Five

Source: New York Times

(October 28, 2009) KABUL, Afghanistan — Attackers stormed a guest house in central Kabul on Wednesday morning, killing five people, including three United Nations staff members, a United Nations spokesman and an Afghan rescue official said. The Afghan authorities said five of the attackers were killed, according to American Embassy officials, bringing the death count to 10.

An Afghan police official said that militants had entered the United Nations guest house and engaged in a gun battle with Afghan forces. Prolonged automatic gunfire was heard coming from the scene, and a large plume of smoke rose from area, an affluent part of the capital with many guest houses and embassies.

The United Nations spokesman, Daniel McNorton, reached by telephone, said that the attack took place in a guest house called Bakhtar.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was tied to the upcoming presidential election, The Associated Press reported.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/world/asia/29afghan.h...

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The shit is really flying apart in Afghanistan.

More dead US and NATO soldiers, plus dead narcs.

Anti-American riots in Kabul.

The Taliban acting out all over the country, and attacking Kabul--again.

Fraudulent elections to be redone in a couple weeks.

Obama trying to figure out what the hell to do.

Yee-haw.

[JanusAscending]

23. GEEZE... You almost sound

PLEASED!!?????????? What's up with that?

[maddezmom]

13. Six U.N. foreign staff killed in attack in Kabul

Six U.N. foreign staff killed in attack in Kabul 28 Oct 2009 06:01:05 GMT
Source: Reuters
(For full coverage of Afghanistan, click on )

* Hotel blasts suggest coordinated attacks

* Three militants dead in guest-house attack

* Bloodiest month for U.S. troops in eight years of war

* Obama weighs added troops, to meet military chiefs

* Hillary Clinton in neighbouring Pakistan

(Updates death toll, adds U.N. stall all foreigners)

By Golnar Motevalli and Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Six U.N. foreign staff were killed when Taliban militants attacked an international guest-house in Kabul on Wednesday, while rockets were fired at a foreign-owned hotel in the Afghan capital, forcing 100 guests into a bunker.

An increasingly resurgent Taliban have vowed to stage attacks ahead of a run-off in Afghanistan's presidential election on Nov. 7 and the apparently coordinated assault on Wednesday will raise questions about security for the vote.

The attacks occurred as U.S. President Barack Obama weighs whether to send more soldiers to Afghanistan to fight a Taliban insurgency at its fiercest since 2001.

"The number right now is six dead, all of them U.N. staff," said Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, adding at least nine were wounded in the attack on the guest-house.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP544860.htm

[maddezmom]

14. 10/28 Afghan police: 12 dead in attack on UN in Kabul

Afghan police: 12 dead in attack on UN in Kabul
By RAHIM FAIEZ and AMIR SHAH (AP) – 5 minutes ago

KABUL — Gunmen with automatic weapons and suicide vests stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff — officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election.

Later, a rocket struck the "outer limit" of the presidential palace but caused no casualties, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said. Another slammed into the grounds of the luxury Serena Hotel, which is favored by many foreigners. The device failed to explode but filled the lobby with smoke, forcing guests and employees to flee to the basement, according to an Afghan witness who asked that his name not be used for security reasons.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack as "an inhuman act" and called on the army and police to strengthen security around all international institutions.

A security guard working nearby said the attackers were wearing police uniforms. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't supposed to talk to media.

more:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEq...

[Turborama]

16. The Guardian: Kabul guesthouse attack leaves UN with security nightmare

Taliban strike could signal end of Afghan militants' apparent unwillingness to target organisation

Jon Boone in Kabul
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 28 October 2009 09.52 GMT

Today's devastating Taliban attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul means the UN has a major security problem on its hands.

Until now, the best protection offered to the thousands of UN staff in the Afghan capital has always come from the apparent unwillingness of insurgents to target an organisation that has been active in the country for decades. That is now no longer the case.

For years, the UN has taken the precaution of insisting that its staff in Kabul live in approved guesthouses which must have armed guards, a safe room to retreat into and plastic film on windows to stop flying glass.

But the hostels are scattered throughout the city and have to be individually secured. Local guards armed with assault rifles are no match for the sort of determined and coordinated assault seen today.

To make matters worse, such compounds are caged in by high walls and razor wire. Once intruders have forced their way past the first line of defence, escape is almost impossible.


More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/28/afghanistan...

[saigon68]

17. live in approved guesthouses which must have armed guards,

Its Blackwater security at your door

[dschis]

21. You said it sir

As a retired Army guy. I NEVER liked civilians working amongst us in just about any capacity except as boss. They don't have the dedication especially in a hot zone, they aren't trained to have standards and they don't fall under the UCMJ and the chain of command.

Even those 'electric showers' would not have happened on the scale they did in Iraq. It might have happened happened once. That's it.

Don't get me started on Blackwater's or any civilian organization's tactical or personal conduct.

I used to tell civilians all of the time. Instead of working 2 civilians for 6.5 hours out of an 8 hour day. I could get an E3 or E4 to do the same thing and they would clean up after themselves

[excess_3]

20. Peace .nt