Karzai blames NATO intelligence failure for terror attacks in Afghanistan
A wave of fierce suicide attacks and fighting unleashed by heavily-armed Taliban in Kabul and three other Afghan cities ended Monday morning, after about 18 hours, leaving 51 people dead, including 36 terrorists, officials said.
The terrorists, who struck Sunday afternoon, had also carried out raids in the provinces of Logar, Paktia and Nangarhar.
The terrorists had attacked central Kabul, where many embassies are located, the parliament building as well as NATO's headquarters in the city.
Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed Sunday's terror attacks to intelligence failure, especially on the part of NATO.
In his first reaction after the attacks, Karzai praised the way the Afghan security forces tackled the suicide attacks.
"The terrorists' infiltration in Kabul and other provinces is an intelligence failure for us, and especially for NATO, and should be seriously investigated," Karzai said.
Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammad said 37 rebels armed with suicide vests, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades launched their offensive Sunday afternoon and the security forces retaliated with a fierce counter offensive in which 36 attackers were killed and one captured.
Meanwhile, a militant arrested in the attacks said the attacks were carried out by the Haqqani network, a lethal group of fighters with ties to the Taliban and Al Qaida, AP quoted a top Afghan security official as saying Monday.
Afghan Interior Minister Besmillah Mohammadi said the terrorist arrested during Sunday's attack had confessed that he was loyal to the Haqqanis.
Abdul Rahman Mangal, deputy governor of Paktia province, said local intelligence agents blamed the Haqqani network for the attack in Gardez, the provincial capital.
The attack was the most lethal since an assault on the US Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul last September, which was also blamed on the Haqqani network.
Source: The Asia News.Net
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