At least one person was killed and 65 were wounded as Taliban militants stormed the Afghan Defense Ministry's logistics facility in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday, according to Wahidullah Mayar, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2019) At least one person was killed and 65 were wounded as Taliban militants stormed the Afghan Defense Ministry's logistics facility in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday, according to Wahidullah Mayar, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.
"One person was martyred and 65 more were wounded, at least nine children among those wounded," Mayar wrote on Twitter.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, adding that the facility of the Defense Ministry was the target and that there were some minor civilian injuries in the blast.
The facility is located in the middle of a highly fortified residential area. The attack happened more than a mile away from the Afghan Presidential Palace and the US Embassy.
At 09:00 a.m. Kabul time (04:30 GMT), an explosive-laden vehicle detonated at the wall of the facility. A group of Taliban militants, whose number is unknown, then entered the facility and began fighting the soldiers there.
Nearby buildings were badly damaged in the first explosion and dozens of people were wounded. Heavy gunfire and more than a dozen of small explosions were heard in the area as Afghan forces were trying to gun down the militants.
"We were at the office, we heard a massive explosion, we thought we are the target so everyone tried to flee. There was dust everywhere," Naseer Rahin, who was wounded in the explosion, told Sputnik.
The Afghan Armed Forces' helicopters are in the air but the militants have not been eliminated yet.
The office of Shamshad tv broadcaster, located nearby, was badly damaged in the attack, dozens of its staff were wounded and one of its guards was killed. According to Abdul Karim Fazel, the director of Shamshad TV, the guard was killed � possibly by mistake � by NATO forces who arrived at the location. There has not been any other confirmation so far.
The attack comes as the Taliban and the United States have engaged in peace talks in Qatar, in an attempt to end the two-decade long conflict in Afghanistan.
