An alleged Taliban sleeper agent opened fire on Monday inside the Defence Ministry, killing at least two soldiers before he was gunned down in the third deadly breach of security in Afghanistan in less than a week.
The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying a Taliban agent who was also an Army officer planned the attack to coincide with a visit of the French Defence Minister, believed to be inside the compound. French officials said the Minister, Gerard Longuet, had not been inside the Ministry during the attack.
Military officials said it was not immediately clear whether the assailant “who was wearing a vest rigged with explosives” was an enlisted soldier or an insurgent who had managed to slip past Ministry security disguised in the military uniform. The vest did not explode.
It was the third deadly attack inside an Afghan or international installation in four days, giving weight to warnings that this year's spring fighting season is likely to be particularly bloody.
On Saturday, an Afghan soldier working as a Taliban sleeper agent turned on his colleagues, killing five NATO service members, four Afghan soldiers and an interpreter.
A day earlier, a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman blew himself up inside the Kandahar police headquarters complex, killing the top law enforcement officer in the restive province.
The turncoat attacks have come as Afghanistan ramps up recruitment of soldiers and policemen so they can take the lead in securing their nation by the end of 2014, adding more than 70,000 police and soldiers last year in an effort to reach 305,000 troopers by the end of this year. These recruits are supposed to be vetted by past employers or at least village elders. Even with those policies in place, there's often a dearth of information about new enlistees.
Monday's shootout occurred at the door to the compound's main office building, where the Minister and other high-ranking officials have offices. The assailant began firing at soldiers at the door, killing two before being shot dead, said a Ministry spokesman. He said there were no additional attackers.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the attacker was an Army officer who had been in the service for at least three .
