Explosions rock Afghan capital, killing senior police official

KABUL — Two explosions rocked the Afghan capital Sunday, including a brazen suicide attack on the heavily fortified police headquarters that killed at least one senior officer and injured six other people inside the building.

The assault occurred hours after a bombing targeted a Defense Ministry convoy in the eastern outskirts of the capital, an area where similar strikes against Afghan security forces have been carried out in the past few weeks. There were no reports of casualties. Hours after the bombing at the police headquarters, a third blast was heard in the city, but police officials said it was unclear where it originated.

The Taliban asserted responsibility for the attacks on the police headquarters and the convoy. Although the casualties appeared to be low, police officials suggested that the death toll could rise. Moreover, the assaults underscored the militant group’s ability to infiltrate highly fortified areas inside the capital protected by Afghan security units, many of them trained by U.S.-led coalition forces. The police headquarters are less than a mile from the presidential palace.

Since the inauguration of a power-sharing government in late September, the Taliban has carried out attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country. The insurgents have denounced the signing of a long-delayed security pactwith Washington that allows the United States to keep thousands of troops as trainers and advisers in Afghanistan after the end of the year.

The Taliban, which ruled the country until it was ousted in late 2001 by U.S.-backed forces after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, has vowed to fight the government until all foreign troops leave the country.  More at Washingtonpost