Taliban fighters opened fire, hurled grenades and staged suicide bombings in central Kabul Friday, killing at least 16 people. An Italian diplomat and Indian government officials were killed in the assault, the governments said. Also among the dead were eight Afghans, including three police officers, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. The French Foreign Ministry said one French national had been killed and India's Foreign Ministry said up to nine Indians were killed. The attack came in the second week of a joint NATO-Afghan offensive against the Taliban in their stronghold in Helmand province, one of the biggest in the eight-year-old war. Some 38 people were wounded in the two-hour assault which started after at least one suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a guest house frequented by Indians. “I heard a big blast,” witness Quaree Sameh told Reuters. “The glass shattered. The attackers were throwing grenades and shooting.” The blast triggered car alarms and sent plumes of smoke into the damp, cold morning air at the start of the Afghan weekend. “I was inside my room when I heard a loud explosion and then I could not see if people were killed or wounded because I locked my door,” said an Indian who gave his name as Kashif, who was staying in the guest house. Afghan security forces wearing bullet-proof vests rushed to secure the area, which is home to Kabul's biggest shopping center, exchanging fire with the militants. Others carried out wounded Indians on their backs or stretchers. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks on behalf of the militants. He said at least five Taliban fighters launched the attack. Two suicide bombers detonated explosives-packed vests near the hotel and the City Center shopping mall.
