Taliban: Attack Near Kabul Presidential Palace Targeted CIA Base

Militants With Forged Papers Crossed Checkpoint, Pounded CIA Offices

Taliban spokesmen confirmed an early morning attack on the grounds of the Afghan Presidential Palace in Kabul, saying the attack was directed primarily at a neighboring CIA base.

The attack showed a shocking ability of Taliban fighters to infiltrate the most secure areas of the nation, with two carloads of fighters using forged papers to bluff past multiple checkpoints before pounding the CIA office with a rocket launcher.

Overall casualties on the ground still aren’t clear, though the Afghan government maintains all eight attackers died in the incident, and at least three palace guards were confirmed killed in one of the simultaneous attacks meant at distracting forces from the primary target.

Amazingly, however, the initial reports are that no civilians were killed. This is particularly surprising since the palace got hit just ahead of a press conference, and a large number of press had gathered, and were forced to flee in a hail of gunfire.

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.