Taliban target French defence minister
The French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet, who is visiting Afghanistan, was the target of an attack inside the Afghan defence ministry in Kabul, the Taliban said, claiming responsibility.
Tuesday 19 April 2011, 06:31AM
The French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet, who is visiting Afghanistan, was the target of an attack inside the Afghan defence ministry in Kabul, the Taliban said, claiming responsibility.
A suicide bomber in army uniform stormed the Afghan defence ministry in Kabul on Monday, military and security sources said, as local media reported three people were wounded in the incident.
A security source speaking anonymously said that a suicide attacker had been killed after entering the building.
“He has not detonated, he has been shot. His suicide vest is still on him,” the source said.
Local television reported that three people were injured in the attack.
A separate military source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said three insurgents had entered the high-security building and were killed, one of whom was “possibly” a suicide bomber.
“Three insurgents have been killed. Afghan security forces are in the process of clearing the building,” the source added.
A Western security source said the Afghan defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was not injured in the attack.
An AFP reporter at the scene said that dozens of Afghan troops had been deployed to the area and the army had blocked roads in the vicinity.
There are around 130,000 international troops in Afghanistan helping Afghan government forces fight a near 10-year insurgency led by the Taliban.
Afghan security forces are frequently targeted by insurgents - on Saturday, five foreign troops and four Afghans were killed in an attack claimed by the Taliban on an army base in Laghman province, eastern Afghanistan. - AFP
