NATO commander says 27 dead in Kabul attack

The top commander for NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan says the Kabul attack has left 27 dead — including Afghan police, civilians and insurgents.

The 20-hour assault in the heart of the Afghan capital ended on Wednesday morning.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John Allen says of those killed, 11 were Afghan civilians, with more than half of them children. Allen says five Afghan police officers were also killed.

He says that 11 insurgents also died in the battle, seven of them in the clearing operation inside the building where the attackers were holed up near the U.S. embassy. Four other attackers served as suicide bombers.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan on Wednesday blamed the Pakistani-based Haqqani network for the coordinated attack against the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in the heart of Kabul.

Ryan Crocker said the attack, which ended just at dawn after a 20-hour gunbattle, would not affect the transfer of security responsibilities from the U.S.-led military coalition to the Afghan security forces. Foreign forces are to completely withdraw their combat troops by the end of 2014.

"Transition will proceed on pace," Crocker said.
The Haqqani network is a Pakistan-based group affiliated with both the Taliban and al-Qaida and has emerged as one of the biggest threats to stability in Afghanistan. The group retains bases in the lawless tribal areas of western Pakistan, including North Waziristan, using those safe havens to launch attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces across the border.

The 20-hour attack in the heart of Kabul ended after a final volley of helicopter gunfire as Afghan police ferreted out and killed the last few assailants who had taken over a half-built downtown building to fire on nearby U.S. Embassy and NATO compounds.

At least six Afghans — four police officers and two civilians — died across the city in what was a coordinated attack that started Tuesday, the Kabul police department said. By Wednesday morning, all assailants, including at least six in the building close to the U.S. embassy, were dead.

Two or three of the assailants had held out overnight in the unfinished, 11-story high-rise at a major traffic circle in the capital, but were killed in the final morning assault by Afghan forces, said Hashmat Stanekzai, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief.

"The terrorist attack in Kabul is over," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The assault also included attempted suicide bombings in different parts of Kabul and raised fresh doubts about the Afghans' ability to secure their nation as U.S. and other foreign troops begin to withdraw.

No NATO or U.S. Embassy employees were hurt in the attack.

Nearly all Taliban attacks in and around the Afghan capital have been carried out by the Haqqanis — including a weekend truck bombing in eastern Wardak province that wounded 77 U.S. soldiers.

"It's tough when you're trying to fight an insurgency that has a lot of support outside the national borders," Crocker said.More...