KABUL (Pajhwok): The attack on the global development charity Counterpart International in Kabul came to an end after five assailants among ten people were killed and 24 others wounded following a six-hour standoff, the Ministry of Interior said Wednesday.
A statement from the MoI received by Pajhwok Afghan News said that the attack began with a powerful car blast outside the US-funded NGO and then gunfire rung out inside the building at around 11:40am today (Wednesday).
The Ministry of Interior earlier said security forces evacuated 150 workers of the NGO to safety and found and detonated a second explosives-filled car.
It added that security forces took control of the area and killed all five attackers.
Four civilians, including a woman, were killed and another 24 people were wounded and a policeman who was trying protect people was also killed.
A security source in the area told Pajhwok that first a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden vehicle outside the NGO in Shehr-i-Naw locality, allowing other attackers to enter the building.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack and said the NGO was involved in various terrorist activities.
Reacting to the attack, President Ashraf Ghani said the Taliban by attacking a civilian office once again committed an unpardonable act.
He said the Taliban once again showed their enmity with Islamic and Afghan values and opposition to the decisions taken by the nation’s Consultative Loya Jirga.
pk/ma
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