Terrorists' strike in Kabul exposes security lapse
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Taliban insurgents in a surprise move infiltrated into the fortified Afghan capital Kabul on Monday and carried out multiple explosions that left over a dozen dead and injured more than 70 others, majority of whom civilians.
The shocking move in the broad daylight at the heart of the capital city and nearby to Presidential Palace has exposed the lapse of security in the country, according to experts.
"Such a bold attack at the gate of Presidential Palace not only exposes the fault of security apparatus but also speaks of Taliban influence within the establishment," a political analyst Qasim Akhgar observed in talks with Xinhua.
Taliban fighters in a coordinated offensive carried out a suicide attack at the gate of Presidential Palace, and another suicide car bomber blew himself up close to Foreign Ministry, damaging a newly built shopping mall.
Some armed militants took position at a five-story superstore and began attacking the buildings of central bank, Justice Ministry, Finance Ministry and the five-star Kabul Serena Hotel which is frequented by foreign ranking guests and diplomats.
The bloody attack coincided with administrating the oath of 14 new ministers by President Hamid Karzai at his fortified Palace to form a functioning cabinet before attending an international conference on Afghanistan scheduled for Jan. 28 in London.
Zabihullah Mujahid who claims to speak for Taliban insurgents, in talks with media via cellular phone from undisclosed location said that 20 fighters some of whom armed with suicide vests entered the city to attack government interests.
The ever-biggest attack on the Afghan capital since the collapse of Taliban regime in late 2001 occurred amid repeated offers by President Karzai to bring the fundamentalist outfit into negotiating table.
"Begging for talks has encouraged the terrorists to attack Kabul brazenly," Akhgar maintained.
This is not the first attack in Kabul and may not be the last one. A similar attack almost in the same area in February last year claimed the lives of over two dozen people mostly civilians.
Three rockets fired by militants and slammed into a residential of the capital city injuring three people including a child couple of weeks ago. And a car suicide blast on December 15 left eight persons dead.
Although the capability of Afghan national security apparatus has been very much improved in comparison to past years, personnel of law enforcing agencies sometimes overlook professionalism, according to locals.
"Police frisking cars in Kabul city to check possible terrorist attacks sometimes let the vehicles with green number plate used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to go unchecked and often pay little attention to glass-tainted Land Cruisers or cars carrying women," a passerby Mohammad Ayub said.
Afghans as part of culture hold women in high esteem and do not search their luggage. However, Ayub says that professionalism of law enforcing forces requires checking any suspicious cars even driven by a lady.
Nevertheless, Afghan security forces in a counter-insurgency operation lasted for five hours on Monday had killed 10 insurgents and brought the situation under control, although it lost three security personnel.
However, experts lash at security organs, stressing Monday's attack revealed the weakness of establishment in tackling terrorism.
"Attack in Kabul does not mean that Taliban militants are strong; rather it exposes the weakness of administration and inability of security bodies," a legislator and military expert General (Retired) Noorul Haq Aloomi observed.
The bloody attack which prompted Afghan government to review security plan for the capital city will not be the last one and the militants would organize more offensives unless the establishment takes necessary steps, according to experts.
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