Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
Death Toll in Attack at Afghan Political Office Rises to 20
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
July 29, 2019

Share

KABUL, Afghanistan — The death toll from an attack against the Kabul office of the Afghan president’s running mate and former chief of the intelligence service climbed to at least 20 people Monday, an official said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the capital and have carried out large-scale attacks in Kabul in the past.
Around 50 other people were wounded in Sunday’s attack against the Green Trend party headquarters, which lasted hours and included a gunbattle between security forces and the attackers, who were holed up inside the building, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi.
Several gunmen were killed by the security forces, Rahimi said.
The attackers’ potential target, vice presidential candidate and former intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh, was “evacuated from the building and moved to a safe location,” Rahimi said. Some 85 other civilians were also rescued from inside.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the capital and have carried out large-scale attacks in Kabul in the past.
The Taliban, who effectively control half the country at this point, have also been staging near-daily attacks across Afghanistan even as they hold talks with the U.S. about a peaceful resolution to the 18-year war, America’s longest conflict. The insurgents however, refuse to directly negotiate with the government, considering it a U.S. puppet.
Sunday marked the first day of the Afghan presidential campaign, with a vote scheduled for the end of September.

Initial Bombing Heard Throughout the Capital

After the attack, President Ashraf Ghani tweeted that Saleh was unharmed during the “complex attack” targeting the Green Trend office.
Saleh founded the Green Trend after he was sacked as intelligence chief in 2010 by former President Hamid Karzai. Though a relative newcomer on the Afghan political scene, its focus has been democracy and reform while fiercely opposing the Taliban and their extremist ideology.
Ferdous Faramarz, the spokesman for Kabul’s police chief, said the attack started with a suicide car bombing, after which other attackers entered the building and started shooting at security forces.
The explosion from the initial bombing was large enough to be heard throughout the capital.
Ghani is seeking a second term in the Sept. 28 vote on promises of ending the war but has been largely sidelined over the past year amid U.S.-Taliban talks.
U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is currently visiting Kabul, has held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in recent months. The two sides appear to be closing in on an agreement in which the U.S. would withdraw its forces in return for a pledge from the Taliban to keep the country from being used as a launch pad for global attacks.
The Taliban and IS are sharply divided over ideology and tactics, with the Taliban largely confining their attacks to government targets and Afghan and international security forces while IS militants mainly target the country’s minority Shiites.
The Taliban and IS have fought each other on a number of occasions, and the Taliban are still the larger and more imposing force.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

DON'T MISS

Hamas Government Office Rejects US Accusation of Involvement in Gaza Aid Site Attack

DON'T MISS

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 78, Trump Plans Visit

DON'T MISS

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

DON'T MISS

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

DON'T MISS

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

DON'T MISS

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

DON'T MISS

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

DON'T MISS

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

UP NEXT

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 78, Trump Plans Visit

UP NEXT

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

UP NEXT

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

UP NEXT

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

UP NEXT

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

Trump Criticized for Using Antisemitic ‘Shylock’ to Describe Bankers

45 minutes ago

Iran President Says Open to Dialogue With US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

55 minutes ago

Shy but Sweet Field Survivor, Poppy the Pup, Now Up for Adoption

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Douglas Wayne Brittain

1 hour ago

Tesla Slides as Musk’s ‘America Party’ Heightens Investor Worries

1 hour ago

US-Backed 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire Envisages Gradual Return of Hostages, Official Says

1 hour ago

Trump to Terminate Deportation Protection for Thousands of Hondurans and Nicaraguans in US

1 hour ago

One Killed, Dozens Wounded in Russian Strikes on Kharkiv in Ukraine

1 hour ago

Texas Girls’ Camp Mourning Dozens Dead in Floods as Search Teams Face More Rain

1 hour ago

Netanyahu to Meet Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas Discuss Ceasefire

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 9 at Independence Day DUI Checkpoint

Nine drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence during a DUI checkpoint in Fresno on the night of July 4, the Fresno ...

20 minutes ago

Fresno Police arrested nine people for DUI and cited 20 others during a Friday, July 4, 2025, checkpoint that screened 227 vehicles. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)
20 minutes ago

Fresno Police Arrest 9 at Independence Day DUI Checkpoint

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference after the Senate passes U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
31 minutes ago

Schumer Wants Probe of National Weather Service Response in Texas

Palestinians inspect the damage at an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, in Gaza City, June 30, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
34 minutes ago

Israeli Guilt Over Gaza Lurks Beneath Silence and Denial

President Donald Trump comes out of the White House onto a balcony on the day he is expected to sign a sweeping spending and tax legislation, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis)
45 minutes ago

Trump Criticized for Using Antisemitic ‘Shylock’ to Describe Bankers

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
55 minutes ago

Iran President Says Open to Dialogue With US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Poppy, a smart and sweet 2- to 3-year-old dog who survived months alone in a field, is now ready for adoption into a loving home. (Mell's Mutts)
1 hour ago

Shy but Sweet Field Survivor, Poppy the Pup, Now Up for Adoption

Douglas Wayne Brittain
1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Douglas Wayne Brittain

The TESLA logo is seen outside a dealership in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., April 26, 2021. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Tesla Slides as Musk’s ‘America Party’ Heightens Investor Worries

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend