Afghanistan Latest: 12 Dead in Suicide Attacks on British Council (Pajhwok and BBC))
Friday, August 19, 2011 at 8:36
The Afghan news agency Pajhwok reports on this morning's attack on the British Council in Kabul:
Twelve people, including four suicide bombers, were killed and as many others wounded after multiple suicide bombers stormed the Cultural Centre of the British Consulate Friday, officials said.
The attack occurred at around 6:30am (0230 GMT) in the Karte Parwan area of 2nd police district and Afghan and foreign security forces, including British troops, cordoned off the area. Helicopters can also be seen hovering over the area.
The onslaught came as the government is marking the 92nd anniversary of the Independence Day.
One of the attackers detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the consulate, allowing other attackers to enter the compound, Col. Mohammad Zahir, crime branch chief for the Kabul 101st Asmayee Zone told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Three back-to-back expositions occurred and fighting was still ongoing, he said.
Two Afghan Police and two municipal workers were killed in the first exposition, Afghan officials said.
There were six suicide bombers involved in the attack and four of them were killed, said a police officer, who did not want to be named. He added that eight people, including police and private guards, were killed and around 10 others wounded.
A forging national was also among those killed, but his nationality was not yet identified, another security official told Pajhwok on condition of anonymity.
British Embassy in Kabul confirmed to media that one of their offices was attacked.
A number of their nationals were in the centre at the time of attack, but did not provide further information, the source added.
We heard a big explosion at dawn, shattering windows of the nearby houses, shops and offices, said an eyewitness Abdullah who added fighting erupted shortly after the blast.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, says a number of suicide attackers have raided the British Consulate and their fighters were still engaged with security forces.
He did not provide information about the casualties.
Suicide attackers have stormed the British Council office in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least eight people and taking over the compound.
After at least three explosions, a number of heavily armed men forced their way into the compound.
Gunfire can still be heard in the area, which was rocked by another explosion several hours after the attack began.
The Taliban said the attack marked the anniversary of Afghanistan's independence from the UK in 1919.
A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman later said: "We can confirm there was an attack against a British Council compound in Afghanistan.
"The embassy is co-ordinating with the Afghan authorities, who are dealing with the incident."
The eight victims of the attack were all thought to be Afghan policemen, authorities said, adding that four attackers were also killed.
It was a three-phase attack, intelligence sources have told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul: First, a suicide attacker detonated his explosive vest at a main square in western Kabul where police were guarding a key intersection shortly after 05:30 (01:30 GMT).
Ten minutes later, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the front gate of the British Council, adds our correspondent.
As the area was evacuated, local shopkeepers say as many as nine suicide attackers armed with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and AK 47s started firing as they ran towards the British Council building.
They have exchanged fire with police for hours and sporadic gunfire can still be heard in the area, residents say, with one gunman still believed be holding out.
Police sources earlier told the BBC they believed "eight or nine suicide attackers" had entered the British Council building.
"They have brought enough weapons to fight for a day," police said.
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