Claims Of Attack And Car Bombing At Home Of Afghan Defense Minister, Taliban: There Is Important Meeting There

Illustration of a car bomb explosion. (Wikimedia Commons/Aaron Keene)

JAKARTA - An explosion near the offices of Afghanistan's main security agency injured three people on Wednesday, hours after a bomb and gun attack on the residence of Afghanistan's defense minister.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a car bomb and gun attack late Tuesday on the home of acting Defense Minister, Bismillah Mohammadi. Meanwhile, there were no immediate claims for Wednesday's explosion, citing Reuters, August 4.

Mohammadi survived an attack on his compound in a heavily fortified part of Kabul, but the violence is a vivid illustration of the deteriorating security as US-led foreign forces gradually complete their withdrawal, which is due to end in September. Meanwhile, the Taliban began to seize various areas of the country.

Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said his group targeted the defense minister's residence while an important meeting was taking place there. Meanwhile, government forces battled the attackers for more than four hours, with the Interior Ministry saying at least eight civilians were killed and 20 injured.

The explosion on Wednesday near the National Directorate of Security facility injured two civilians and a security official, police said.

The Taliban have stepped up their campaign to defeat the US-backed government since April when foreign troops completed their withdrawal after 20 years of war. Heavy fighting broke out around the city of Herat, near the western border with Iran, and Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.

Separately, an Afghanistan military spokesman said a state of emergency had been declared in Lashkar Gah and government forces were getting US reinforcements and air support.

"Special forces have been sent to the area. Their morale is good", armed forces spokesman General Ajmal Omar Shinwari told Reuters.

To note, the loss of Lashkar Gah would be a major blow to the government, which has pledged to retain strategic centers after losing many rural districts to the Taliban in recent months.