Spaniards among 6 killed in Kabul embassy siege

At least four Afghan policemen and two Spaniards were killed in an hours-long Taliban siege near the Spanish embassy in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, the latest high-profile insurgent attack that ended on Saturday.

Multiple blasts and gunfire rocked the high-security zone after the brazen raid began on Friday, just hours after President Ashraf Ghani voiced optimism that a peace process with the Taliban would resume within weeks.

“Four Afghan policemen, two foreign nationals and four attackers were killed in the terrorist attack in Kabul,” Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of Kabul’s Criminal Investigation Department, said. The government in Madrid confirmed that the two foreigners were Spanish policemen killed during the assault, which began when a huge car bomb struck during rush hour on Friday.  The powerful blast, which sent a thick plume of smoke into the sky, was followed by multiple explosions through the night along with sporadic bursts of gunfire. Security men near the embassy ducked from gunshots as they hauled away a limp body and two wounded men through the dark to a waiting ambulance ­­— one bleeding from the head, the other a policeman with a gunshot wound to his leg - Afghan officials said the last of the four assailants was killed in the early hours of Saturday.  

The attack follows a deadly 27-hour Taliban siege of Kandahar airport this week as the militants ramp up attacks despite the onset of the harsh winter season, when the fighting usually calms down. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.