Second Taliban attack in Kabul in a week

In the second brazen raid in the capital in less than a week, two Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of the Kabul traffic police headquarters early on Monday. Later, another group of militants stormed the compound, battling security forces for nine hours in an attack that left three policemen and all five attackers dead, authorities said.

Nine hours after Monday’s insurgent attack began with two of the five attackers blowing themselves up, police commandos killed the last two insurgents holed up in the police headquarters, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said.

He added that four traffic policemen and 10 civilians were also been wounded in the fighting.

The traffic police headquarters is adjacent to the Afghan border police headquarters and a police training facility — nearly empty at the time of the attack — which may have been the more likely target.

It was the second insurgent attack inside Kabul in five days. Last Wednesday, six Taliban suicide bombers attacked the gates of the Afghan intelligence agency in downtown Kabul, killing one guard and wounding dozens.