Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Taliban Kills at Least 28 in Kabul, Afghanistan; Suicide Bomb, Gunfire Wound More Than 320

Taliban militants attacked an elite government security agency in Kabul, Afghanistan with a suicide bomb and gunfire today (April 19, 2016), killing at least 28 people and wounding more than 320 others in one of the most devastating attacks in Kabul in years, according to the Alaska Dispatch News website.

The target -- the main training ground for an Afghan intelligence unit tasked with protecting senior officials -- represented a direct strike against the Western-aided government a week after the Taliban announced its spring offensive.

The raid also was a message that the reach of fighters -- and their ability to stage major coordinated attacks -- appears undimmed, despite rifts within the militant group's ranks and pressures from the rival Islamic State (IS), as it seeks to expand its influence in Afghanistan.

For leaders of Kabul, it may shatter for now any hope for the revival of stalled peace talks with the Taliban and would put President Ashraf Ghani under growing pressure from rivals over his efforts to reach out to the Taliban.

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