Fourteen people dead in Taliban attack on aid group in Kabul

TIL Desk/World/Kabul/ The death toll of a Taliban attack targeting an international aid group in the Afghan capital jumped to 14 on Thursday, with the militant group warning it would conduct more such strikes to avenge the civilian casualties of counter-insurgency military operations by Afghan and foreign forces.

A group of Taliban attackers on Wednesday triggered a car bomb and then stormed the compound of the building housing the office of the charity, Counterpart International, in the Shahr-e-Naw area of Kabul.

Afghan forces engaged the assailants in a nearly six-hour-long battle before all the attackers were gunned down. The government had initially said 10 people, including the five bombers, were killed in the clash.

However, the Interior Ministry on Thursday said a total of 14 people had died in the gun battle. “In addition to the five attackers, the death toll from the attack on Counterpart International increased to nine,” Ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said.