Siege at Afghan police compound kills five-governor

22 May 2011 11:54

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Siege ends with five police, soldiers killed

* Four insurgents killed during bold assault

* Vioelnce spikes across Afghanistan (Updates after siege ends, changes dateline, adds byline)

By Elyas Wahdat

KHOST, Afghanistan, May 22 (Reuters) - Four Taliban suicide bombers killed five members of the Afghan security forces during a siege in a police building in Afghanistan's volatile east on Sunday, officials said, the latest in a series of brazen, high-profile attacks.

The insurgents were holed up inside a police building in the eastern city of Khost, near the Pakistan border, for several hours before the siege was brought to an end when Afghan troops stormed the building.

"Two Afghan soldiers and three policemen were killed," Abdul Jabar Naeemi, the governor of Khost province, told Reuters.

Earlier, Mohammad Yaqub, the deputy police chief for Khost, said at least two explosions and gunfire had been heard soon after the bold attack was launched.

Violence has spiked across Afghanistan in recent weeks since the Taliban announced the start of their long-awaited "spring offensive", with attacks against supposedly secure targets across the country.

In Kabul, a suicide bomber killed six medical students in an attack inside the cafeteria of the main military hospital in a heavily guarded area of the capital on Saturday. More than 20 were wounded. [ID:nL4E7GL063]

U.S. commanders had also warned of a spike in violence this month as the Taliban try to push back against military gains against insurgents in the south over the past 18 months.

GUNFIRE, EXPLOSIONS

Naeemi said two of the suicide bombers blew themselves up during the siege and the others two were shot dead before they could detonate their explosives.

The attack was launched in the traffic control centre in a police compound in the centre of Khost city, although fighting tailed off several hours later as security forces surrounded the building.

Khost police chief Abdul Hakim Esaaqzai said the attackers were wearing border police uniforms. He said Afghan troops had entered the building to bring the siege to an end.

Television pictures showed at least one building on fire as Afghan soldiers skirted beneath a high wall on the outside of the compound.

Several members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were also seen further back from the building.

A car packed with explosives was found near the building and was being taken away to be defused, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemari Bashary.

The surge in violence comes as U.S. and NATO forces prepare to begin a gradual troop drawdown and handover of security responsibility to Afghans from July.

The process is set to end with the withdrawal of the last foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Despite the presence of 150,000 foreign troops, violence across Afghanistan in 2010 hit its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001. (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Alex Richardson)