Taliban suicide attacks struck government buildings at three sites in Kabul on Feb. 11, killing at least 20 people and wounding 57 in coordinated strikes that demonstrated the vulnerability of even Afghanistan’s heavily fortified capital. At the Justice Ministry, five militants armed with explosives and Kalashnikov rifles killed two guards, stormed the building, and took control of several floors for about an hour. They shot to death 10 people before being killed.
Coming on the eve of a scheduled visit by Richard C. Holbrooke, President Obama’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the attacks highlighted the deteriorating security in the Afghanistan. The Taliban, who already control much of the countryside, have steadily encroached on the capital and its outlying provinces. Holbrooke’s visit is part of a review of the war effort, as the Obama administration prepares to send as many as 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan this year. (NYT, Feb. 11)
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