Taliban suicide attacks, shootout kill 16 in Afghan capital

Near-simultaneous Taliban suicide bombings and an hours-long shootout with Afghan security forces left at least 16 people dead and over 100 wounded in Kabul on Wednesday.

Near-simultaneous Taliban suicide bombings and an hours-long shootout with Afghan security forces left at least 16 people dead and over 100 wounded in Kabul on Wednesday.

The brazen noon-time attacks also underscored the challenges the government continues to face as it grapples with the 15-year-long insurgency and struggles to improve security for ordinary Afghans.

Thick black smoke rose above the grounds, and several rounds of small-arms fire and subsequent explosions were heard from inside, according the Mohammad Naser, a shopkeeper who has a store nearby.

President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning the attacks, saying that “terrorists and their alien masters once again tried to create an atmosphere of terror and fear in Kabul.”