At least nine people, including Afghan troops and civilians, have been killed and an undisclosed number of others wounded after the Taliban attacked and successfully infiltrated the Kandahar Airport, a compound which includes the main Afghan military and NATO headquarters for southern Afghanistan.
Suicide bombers forced their way through the main gate in the late afternoon, and gunmen made their way to an old schoolhouse inside the compound, which is converted to shops now, barricading themselves in. Fighting continues well into Tuesday night.
Though Afghan officials have termed the fighting “over,” it is unclear how the battle was ultimately settled, and if any of the Taliban managed to get away after the attack. Though some Taliban were clearly killed in suicide bombing attacks, no Taliban toll was released.
The Taliban has yet to release a statement explaining the attack, but Kandahar is their historic capital city, and proving their ability to continue launching attacks against high security areas certainly proves an embarrassment to the Afghan military, if nothing else.