Worthy News: Bombers target Afghan army bases

Sunday 19 December 2010

Bombers target Afghan army bases

Afghan soldiers run for cover as a bomb explodes during a gunbattle on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday

A suicide bomber detonated explosives on an army bus in Kabul

Suicide attacks have targeted Afghan military bases in two cities, leaving 13 members of the security forces dead, along with at least five assailants.

In the northern city of Kunduz, suicide bombers stormed an army recruitment centre in the centre of town, where a gunbattle raged for several hours.

On the outskirts of Kabul, attackers ambushed an army bus outside the country's main recruitment centre.

A Taliban spokesman reportedly claimed responsibility for that attack.

The recruitment centre in Kunduz came under attack from at least four suicide bombers.

Foreign and Afghan soldiers surrounded the building, in which about 100 people were trapped.

Gunfire and explosions could be heard and the recruitment centre - which is in the centre of the city - was set alight.

Local police sources say that five Afghan soldiers and three policemen were killed, along with at least three of the attackers.

“The enemy came prepared”

Mawlana Sayed Khel Kundoz province police chief

"The enemy came prepared,'' the police chief of Kunduz province, Mawlana Sayed Khel, told the BBC.

The recruitment centre in Kunduz is situated in the heart of the city, about 100m (330 feet) from the police chief's office and key government buildings.

Questions will be asked as to how the attackers managed to get past many police checkpoints on the outskirts of the city, correspondents say.

Kunduz, once a relatively quiet part of the country, is becoming much more unstable.

Afghan and American forces have killed dozen of Taliban commanders in recent weeks in the province.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Kunduz on Saturday, to see German troops, who have a base there.

In Kabul the attackers opened fire on a bus filled with Afghan army soldiers.

Security forces at a nearby checkpoint opened fire on the attackers. One was was shot dead.

But a suicide bomber then detonated explosives, killing five soldiers.

The assault took place outside the Kabul military training centre on the outskirts of the city - the country's main base for the training of recruits.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, reported AP news agency.

This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.