Armed gunmen stormed the heavily fortified compound of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior (MoI) in Kabul on Wednesday afternoon.
The massive compound, located close to the international airport, houses several international agencies, including the Interpol. Eyewitnesses who were stuck inside the compound during the attack told this writer that they heard one large explosion, followed by several smaller blasts. “We were in hiding for over an hour and could hear gunfires and even several rockets outside, but thankfully, no one in our office was injured or killed,” said an Afghan employee, sharing his ordeal after escaping.
“I think there were about 10 attackers; and it seems like they were all killed when the special forces arrived,” he added, still on edge and panting. One Afghan policeman was killed in a car bomb attack outside the compound. Afghan officials said there were only eight attackers and all were neutralised before they could get farther into the compound. The complex is one of the most heavily guarded compounds in Kabul, owing to the presence of international forces within the area. “Clearance operations are now under way,” officials stated, two hours after the first explosion was reported.
Attackers in disguise
The presence of several international organisations in the complex raises questions about the actual target of the attack. “Many international projects are based here, although I didn’t see many foreigners,” said another senior Ministry official, who was also caught in the attack and took cover in his office. He expressed concern over how far the insurgents were able to penetrate the secured compound.
“There are so many checkpoints before one can get even to the gates of the compound. It is surprising how they even made it to the periphery of the MoI compound,” he said.
Interestingly, the insurgents themselves were dressed like foreign forces and were travelling in a large vehicle mostly used by expatriates or diplomats. These vehicles are rarely stopped for regular security checks around the city.
A day before the attack, Afghan security forces arrested a few insurgents in the vicinity of the Ministry compound and captured a large vehicle which was laden with explosives. An official within the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said that the two incidents were not related.
“We’ve had information about these attacks for a while now and were prepared for it,” he told this writer. “We also have reports on other potential attacks and have increased security across the city and are working to foil such attempts,” he said, adding the insurgents caught the day before were intending to target the airport, and not the Ministry compound.
However, insurgents have conducted similar coordinated attacks on multiple locations in the city earlier this month, like the ones on May 9 , which targeted police buildings. Taliban has, in fact, issued a warning to Kabul residents to avoid areas close to offices hosting military and security forces since they are planning more attacks.
The regional faction of the Islamic State terror group took responsibility of the incident. However, the Afghan NDS official said that it was the Haqqani Network that executed the attack. “It’s always the Haqqani Network. They conduct the most attacks on this city,” he said.
