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Gunmen Attack Afghan Spy Agency Compound In Kabul


A special-forces soldier fires his weapon during a clash between insurgents and security forces in Kabul on August 16.
A special-forces soldier fires his weapon during a clash between insurgents and security forces in Kabul on August 16.

Gunmen have launched an attack on an Afghan intelligence training center in Kabul, officials say.

Police officer Abdul Rahman said on August 16 that the attackers were holed up in a building near the compound overseen by the National Security Directorate in a western neighborhood of the Afghan capital.

He said the gunmen were shooting at the facility and it wasn't immediately clear how many gunmen were involved in the assault.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the attackers were firing rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi later said three or four attackers took part in the assault and two of them were killed.

He said Afghan forces had cleared the building from the basement all to the fourth floor and were battling gunmen on the fifth floor during the early evening.

There was no immediate word on the number of casualties among civilians and security forces nor any immediate claim of responsibility, which comes a day after a suicide bombing in a Shi'ite area of Kabul killed 34 people and wounded 56 others.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group on August 16 claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Afghanistan's Western-backed government has been struggling to fend off the Taliban, the Islamic State, and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP
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