Taliban gunmen launched a brazen and brutal attack in the heart of Kabul Monday morning, storming government buildings, a bank and a busy market close to the Presidential Palace.
At least 20 militants, including suicide bombers, struck at symbols of the Afghan government in an effort to undermine the authority of President Hamid Karzai, who is poised to launch a new reconciliation program with the Taliban and swear in a new cabinet.
Gunmen also attacked the Central Bank, the Serena Hotel and the Ariana cinema, all frequented by Westerners.
The city was under siege for several hours as Afghan security officials flooded the streets, barricading roads as waves of gunfire, punctuated by explosions rang out from the city centre.
As the fighting tapered off, Afghan civilians appeared to have suffered the worst, with dozens apparently injured in the Froshga market, a shopping bazaar that was engulfed in flames by mid-morning.
Security forces claimed to have killed at least two insurgents, with at least two others dying in suicide explosions. The Taliban claimed to have killed 40 people, which could not be independently verified.
Mr. Karzai quickly moved to quell fear saying the situation was under control. He accused “the enemies of Afghanistan” of “trying to spread fear.”
However, the attack, in broad daylight, with insurgents penetrating key Afghan ministries, was unnerving, piercing any sense of security.
Most Afghans boarded up shops and stayed in their homes.
“This city is no longer safe, not for Afghans, not for anybody,” said Mohammed Asadullah, a 31-year-old man bicycling home, away from the sound of gunfire.
The attack began at about 9:30 in the morning, when a group of men walked into the Froshga market, wearing suicide vests hidden beneath traditional woolen shawls.
“If you want to die, stay here,” one of the gunmen said to a group of stunned shopkeepers, who fled, along with shoppers onto the street.
Others took refuge in the basement.
The market was used as a staging ground to gain access to surrounding buildings, as gunmen fanned out in a highly co-ordinated attack.
One suicide bomber detonated himself in front of the central bank. Another explosion rang out from the entrance to the Presidential Palace. Another near the Ministry of Education.
Police and paramilitary forces scrambled to the scene, fighting for control amidst mass confusion.
Mohammadullah, a shopkeeper, arrived before the gunmen, at 9:30 a.m.: “Twenty meters from my shop a rocket slammed into the Serena Hotel. I couldn't believe what happened,” he said.
“All the people are scared. I saw bodies – police and guards in front of the palace – lying on the road in blood,” he said.
“I saw fighting on one side of the Presidential Palace,” said another witness.
Afghan National Army soldiers and police fired at several buildings.
Three insurgents had taken positions on the roof of the Froshga market as it burned.
The Taliban quickly claimed success: “We have sent 20 suicide bombers to Kabul,” Zabidullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in a telephone interview.
“We have launched this attack against the puppet government. Our fighters have killed many, many people,” he said.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement: “ISAF … is working closely with our Afghan partners to aggressively contain the situation.”
