Attacks in Afghan capital target officials, foreigners
Militants attacked a guest-house and hotel used by foreigners in Kabul on Wednesday, in an apparently coordinated assault on the Afghan capital less than a fortnight before a run-off vote in the presidential election.
Militants attacked a guest-house and hotel used by foreigners in Kabul on Wednesday, in an apparently coordinated assault on the Afghan capital less than a fortnight before a run-off vote in the presidential election.
Taliban militants have closed in on Kabul in the past year, mounting bold attacks inside the city and making travel to the west, south and east of the city dangerous for aid workers and government officials. The second round presidential vote will take place on Nov. 7.
Here is a timeline tracing attacks in Kabul since 2008:
Jan 14, 2008 - Several Taliban gunmen storm the luxury Serena hotel near the presidential palace in a commando-style attack, killing six people, including a Norwegian journalist. The Norwegian foreign minister, staying at the hotel, is unhurt.
April 27 - President Hamid Karzai survives an assassination attempt while attending a military parade close to his presidential palace. Three civilians are killed as Taliban fighters fire guns and rockets at the official celebrations.
July 7 - A suicide car bomb kills 58 people, including three Indian embassy officials, outside Indian Embassy in Kabul. Scores of people wounded in the biggest attack in the capital in the eight-year-old war.
Oct 20 - Two Taliban gunmen kill a British woman aid worker in the Afghan capital as she walks to work, accusing her of spreading Christian propaganda.
Oct 25 - One British and one South African employee of the international courier company DHL, and an Afghan guard, killed in a shooting in the heart of the Afghan capital.
Oct 30 - Five people die after a suicide bomber blows himself up inside the Information Ministry in the heart of Kabul, following a clash between insurgents and ministry guards. The Taliban says foreign advisers inside were the targets.
Nov 3 - Gunmen kidnap a French aid worker in Kabul, shoot dead an Afghan driver for the national intelligence agency who tries to stop the abduction.
Nov 27 - A suicide attack on a convoy of foreign forces near the U.S. embassy in Kabul kills four civilians.
Nov 30 - A suicide car bomber kills three Afghan civilians in an attack outside the German embassy in Kabul, near a key base of U.S. forces.
Feb 1, 2009 - Taliban suicide car bomber hits a convoy of foreign troops on Kabul’s western edge, wounding two Afghan civilians and slightly injuring a French soldier.
Feb 11 - A number of Taliban fighters, including suicide bombers, storm two government buildings, including the Justice Ministry, across from the presidential palace. More than 20 people were killed and nearly 50 wounded.
Aug 15 - A Taliban suicide bomber kills seven people and wounds 90 in an attack outside the headquarters for the NATO-led force, near the U.S. embassy and several government buildings.
Aug 18 - A rocket strikes the presidential palace in Kabul and a second hit the Afghan capital’s police headquarters, just two days before the presidential election, a police source said. No one is hurt.
Aug 19 - Several Taliban gunmen, including a suicide bomber, storm a bank and then clash with police in an area just to the south of the presidential palace. The gunmen were killed in the clash.
Aug 20 - Taliban fighters clash with police while trying to carry out attacks as part of plan to sabotage the presidential poll. Two Taliban fighters killed.
Sept 8 - A Taliban suicide car bomber detonates his explosives at an entrance to a NATO military base located inside Kabul’s only airport. Several Afghans die.
Sept 17 - Ten Afghan civilians and six Italian soldiers die in a massive suicide car bomb attack carried out by Taliban militants on a road between Kabul’s airport and the U.S. embassy.
Oct 8 - Seven Afghan civilians killed and 45 more wounded in a blast outside the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital.
Oct 28 - Six U.N. foreign staff are killed when militants attack an international guest house. Rockets fired at Serena hotel.