5 suicide bombers killed in Kabul attack (Video)

KABUL (PAN): Five suicide bombers were killed in a brazen attack and gunfire in front of the Afghan intelligence service, known as the National Directorate of Security (NDS), in Kabul on Wednesday afternoon.

One of the Taliban bombers detonated his explosives-laden car in front of the agency entrance near the Sadarat Square, with the rest being shot dead by security personnel, police said. Thirty injured people were evacuated to hospitals.

Several shops and vehicles were damaged as a result of the blast, said Ministry of Interior spokesman Ghulam Siddique Siddiqui, who explained four people were also killed and 30 others, including security personnel, wounded.

He said the attack involved five bombers, two of them in explosives-packed pickups. One assailant managed to detonate his vehicle, while the second pickup was captured by security official.

The bombing took place in front of the agency gate, killing and wounding several people, including intelligence agents, said a shopkeeper in the area, Hasibullah.

Director- General of Kabul Hospitals Dr. Kabir Amiri said five of the injured were evacuated to hospital. At least one injured man was taken to the Kabul Emergency Hospital, according to another official, who did not want to be named.

Windowpanes of nearby shops and buildings in upscale Shahr-i-Naw locality were smashed as a result of the heavy blast.

As usual, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the NDS headquarters, the second in less than two months. The group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a large number of intelligence agents were killed and wounded.PAJHWPK/ Ataullah Khpulwok