KABUL: An
hours-long gun and bomb attack on a Kabul government compound killed at least
43 people, officials said yesterday, making it one of the deadliest assaults on
the Afghan capital this year. No militant group has claimed responsibility for
the raid, which caps a bloody year for Afghanistan as long-suffering civilians
and security forces are slaughtered in record numbers. Taleban spokesman
Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP the attack had "nothing to do with the
militants". Another 27 people were wounded in Monday's massacre on a site
where the Ministry of Public Works and an office that handles pensions and
benefits for war veterans are located, health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh
said.

Gunmen stormed
the compound mid-afternoon after detonating two car bombs at the main entrance,
which is opposite residential apartment blocks. As they entered two buildings
belonging to the Ministry of Public Works and the organization responsible for
supporting war veterans and their families, terrified workers ran for their
lives. Some jumped from windows several floors up to escape the militants. The
blasts may have been decoys, according to witnesses who told AFP they saw
several militants enter the compound through a back gate.

Hundreds were
trapped inside for hours as heavily armed security forces swarmed the area,
engaging the attackers in a fierce gun battle punctuated by multiple
explosions. Public works ministry employee Amdullah Barekzai hid under his desk
for five hours, listening to gunfire and blasts inside his building. "When
the security forces took us from the office, I saw many bodies covered in
blood, lying in the corridors," Barekzai said. At least four militants
were killed and more than 350 people freed, officials said. Most of the dead
and wounded were civilians, who have borne the brunt of the 17-year war.
"It was a barbaric attack against humanity," interior ministry
spokesman Najib Danish told reporters.

Taleban blamed

It was the deadliest
assault in the Afghan capital since a suicide bomber blew himself up in the
middle of a religious gathering last month, killing at least 55 people.
President Ashraf Ghani, whose government has been skewered over its security
failures, said "terrorists attack civilian targets to hide their defeat on
the battleground". Afghanistan's de facto prime minister Abdullah Abdullah
also sounded a defiant note as he blamed the Taleban for the attack.

"Every
attack they carry out against our people, our resolve is further strengthened
to eliminate them," he said. But their statements belie the grim reality
on the battlefield where the Taleban have the upper hand.  Afghanistan's largest militant group has made
significant territorial gains this year as its fighters inflict record
casualties on government forces.

US staying the
course?

The raid followed
a tumultuous few days in Afghanistan where officials are reeling from US
President Donald Trump's plan to slash troop numbers, which many fear could
harm efforts to end the conflict with the Taleban. It also comes after a major
security shake-up in Kabul that has placed staunch anti-Taleban and -Pakistan
veterans in charge of the police and military. While there has been no official
announcement of a US drawdown, the mere suggestion of the United States
reducing its military presence has rattled the Afghan capital and potentially
undermined peace efforts.

General Scott
Miller, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said Sunday he had not
received orders to pull forces out of the country. Trump's decision apparently
came yesterday as US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with the Taleban in Abu
Dhabi, part of efforts to bring the militants to the negotiating table with
Kabul. Many Afghans are worried that Ghani's fragile unity government would
collapse if US troops pulled out, enabling the Taleban to sweep back into power
and potentially sparking another bloody civil war. - AFP