19 Killed in Coordinated Afghanistan Attacks

NATO Shrugs Off 'Largely Ineffective' Strikes

Taliban fighters have launched a number of coordinated attacks across Kabul today, targeting NATO bases, embassies, and government buildings across the Afghan capital. Officials put the overall death toll at 19, with dozens of others wounded.

NATO was quick to shrug off the attack, saying it was “largely ineffective” and that Afghan forces had been able to deal with it almost entirely by themselves “in a matter of hours.” The US condemned the attempts to strike every heavily defended facility in the capital as “cowardly.”

NATO’s optimism wasn’t mirrored by everyone, however, as MP Wazhma Frogh complained that he was “nearly shot in the back” during the attacks when an Afghan national police member just started shooting wildly around the area.

The attacks were the latest in the Taliban’s usual spring offensive, It is the second major round of attacks since Monday, with Afghan military officials predicting an increase in violence and Afghan civilian officials insisting that they have things well in hand.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.