Attack on British Council in Kabul kills 8, injures 16

[News_Editor]

Attack on British Council in Kabul kills 8, injures 16

2011-08-20 09:09:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least eight people were killed on early Friday morning when insurgents attacked the British Council in the Afghan capital of Kabul, officials said. More than a dozen others were injured.

The attack began at around 5.30 a.m. local time when the first blast detonated in front of the British Council, which is located in Kabul's northwestern Kart-i-Parwan neighborhood. The area also houses top government officials such as Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

About ten minutes after the first blast, a second explosion was heard in the area. It was followed by a series of smaller explosions as gunmen stormed inside the British cultural center and opened fire.

Afghan and foreign soldiers retaliated and the exchange of fire lasted some nine hours until security forces shot and killed the last attacker at around 2.50 p.m. local time, according to the Interior Ministry spokesman Ghulam Siddiq Siddiqui.

During the attack, eight people were killed, including one or perhaps two Nepalese Gurkhas (security guards). An Afghan civilian and a New Zealand SAS soldier were also killed, while a total of 16 people were reported injured.

"I condemn this despicable attack on the British Council building in Kabul earlier today," said UK Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt. "My thoughts are with those killed and injured and their families and friends, including locals working to protect the British Council building. It is a sad fact that once again an attack aimed at the international community has killed Afghans."

Burt said all British nationals who were affected by the attack are safe, reportedly thanks to a safe room inside the building housing the British Council. "It is due to the presence of mind of the staff involved and our good security measures that no British nationals were hurt," Burt said.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron also condemned the attack and said he had spoken to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to thank him for the role the country's special forces played in defending the British compound.

"This is a particularly vicious and cowardly attack but it's an attack that hasn't succeeded," Cameron said. "It will not stop the British Council and indeed our whole effort in Afghanistan to bring stability and peace to that country."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai also strongly condemned the attack, saying it was the work of "ignorant mercenaries". He further praised the work of Afghan and international security forces.

General John R. Allen, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), condemned the "despicable act of murder and destruction" on Friday, which also marked Afghanistan's independence from the United Kingdom in 1919.

In the United States, meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the attack on an institution which is dedicated to improving the lives of Afghans. "Brutal attacks such as these will not lessen our resolve or our commitment to Afghanistan and the region," Clinton said. "The United States will continue to support the Afghan people and to assist the Afghan government, security forces, and civil society as they rebuild after decades of war. We are committed to a common vision of a stable, independent Afghanistan rid of the insurgency and free from al-Qaeda."

While it was not known for certain who was behind the attack, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility. The Taliban however is known to also claim responsibility for attacks it did not carry out.

"Mujahideen (Muslim fighters) of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) attacked [the] British Culture Center in the heart of Kabul city on Friday, taking out scores of British officials and their puppets guards in what was [a] signal for the British and their allies on the Independence Day that invading forces are to be doomed to destruction as the British Empire had been destined to failure 92 years ago," Mujahid said in a statement. But despite Mujahid's claim, there were no British casualties.

Mujahid further rejected claims by Afghan officials that a civilian had been killed. "The enemy claims, as usual, that the civilians, too, have been killed in the martyrdom operation aimed at the Brits," he said. "[This] can be fully denied due to the fact that the attack came at about 4.30 a.m., the time when there were no civilians within the facility and the surrounding areas."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-20

[Atmos]

Death no reason to bring troops home early, says PM

By Anna Leask 11:46 AM Saturday Aug 20, 2011

Prime Minister John Key will not consider pulling New Zealand troops out of Afghanistan following the death of a soldier in a terrorist attack yesterday.

The SAS soldier was shot in the chest while trying to rescue civilian hostages after a group of suicide attackers stormed a British compound in Kabul.

He was responding to the attack with members of the Afghan Crisis Response Unit when he was shot, and died while being airlifted to a military hospital.

His name and further details of his death will not be released until Monday to allow his extended family to be properly informed.

However it has been confirmed the dead man is not Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Willie Apiata.

read more

[Atmos]

Abbott pays tribute to SAS soldier

4:58 PM Saturday Aug 20, 2011

Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott has paid tribute to the New Zealand special forces soldier killed in a Taleban attack in Kabul.

Mr Abbott has spoken of the heroism of the Special Air Service (SAS) soldier, who is yet to be named, who was among nine people killed overnight in a raid on Britain's cultural centre in the Afghan capital.

"There's been another death in action in Afghanistan, not an Australian soldier but one of our trans-Tasman brothers ... who died heroically trying to rescue hostages in Kabul," he told reporters after addressing the State Liberal conference in Adelaide on Saturday.

"I just want to say on behalf of the coalition, our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of New Zealand at this moment.

read more

[Atmos]

New details as killed soldier identified

Last updated 12:32 22/08/2011

Corporal Doug Grant was killed in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, helping save the lives of three British civilians and three Gurkha security guards.

The 41-year-old SAS soldier from Linton known as "Dougie" died on Friday in a helicopter on the way to a military hospital after an attack by the Taleban at the British Council diplomatic offices.

He leaves behind his wife Tina, their seven-year-old daughter and their five-year-old son.

Grant had spent 21 years in the Defence Force and had served in the Infantry Regiment and with the engineers unit before joining the SAS, General Jones said. He had left the SAS and moved to Linton to spend more time with his family but had asked to return with the SAS to Afghanistan.

He had served in East Timor twice, the former Yugoslavia and was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The work of the SAS was always dangerous, he said. "This is the reality of military life."

read more

Edited August 22, 2011 by Atmos