From our partners at The Agonist
May 7
Al Jazeera – Taliban gunmen unleashed a major assault on government buildings throughout Kandahar, Afghanistan’s largest southern city – a former Taliban stronghold where US-led coalition and Afghan forces are trying to establish security and a functioning government.
Saturday’s attacks were the latest in a series of strikes by the Taliban insurgency at high-profile government installations.
Government and hospital officials confirmed that the compound of Tooryalai Wesa, the governor of Kandahar Province, the mayor’s office and the intelligence agency offices had all been attacked, along with a number of police stations.
Speaking on Saturday afternoon, Lutfullah Mashal, a spokesperson for the Afghan Intelligence Service, confirmed the attacks on the governor’s house and other government buildings by “unknown gunmen”.
“We have no information about the causalities or other information about the attackers,” Mashal said.
He added that the police had control of the city, but the fighting was continuing hours after it began around middady.
James Bays, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the capital, Kabul, reported that the RPGs landed 300m from the governor’s compound. It was not immediately clear whether Wesa was in the compound.
Local authorities have blocked journalists from accessing the site, as fighting is continuing.
