KABUL — Taliban militants wearing explosive vests launched a brazen daylight assault Monday on the center of Kabul, with suicide bombings and gun battles near the presidential palace and other government buildings that paralyzed the city for hours.
Afghan forces along with NATO advisers managed to restore order after nearly five hours of fighting as explosions and machine gunfire echoed across the mountain-rimmed city, sending terrified Afghans racing for cover. Twelve people were killed, including seven attackers, officials said.
The assault by a handful of determined militants dramatized the vulnerability of the Afghan capital, undermining public confidence in President Hamid Karzai’s government and its U.S.-led allies.
The attacks also suggested that the mostly rural Taliban are prepared to strike at the heart of the Afghan state — even as the United States and its international partners are rushing 37,000 reinforcements to join the eight-year war.
“We are so concerned, so disappointed about the security in the capital,” said Mohammad Hussain, a 25-year-old shopkeeper who witnessed the fighting. “Tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO troops are being sent to Afghanistan, yet security in the capital is deteriorating.”
The violence began shortly before 10 a.m. and persisted until midafternoon with attacks at four locations within an area of less than one square mile.
The attack unfolded as Cabinet members were being sworn in by President Hamid Karzai, despite that parliament’s rejection of most of his choices. Presidential spokesman Waheed Omar said the ceremony occurred as scheduled and that everybody in the palace was safe.
In the first assault, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at Pashtunistan Square, a major intersection near the gates to the presidential palace, the Central Bank and the luxury Serena Hotel, which is frequented by Westerners.
Clashes broke out as other militants fought with Afghan troops, who converged on the scene in pickup trucks and armored vehicles. Police sealed off the area.
Attackers then stormed into a shopping mall, prompting a standoff with security forces. Two bombers were killed when their explosives detonated, setting the building ablaze.
About 1 p.m., three other attackers entered another commercial building housing offices and stores, holding off security forces for about two hours before they were killed.
The dead included an intelligence agent, two police officers and two civilians, including one child, said Interior Minister Hanif Atmar. He said 71 other people were wounded, including 35 civilians.
