Taliban gunmen nearly stormed the Afghan parliament on Monday, setting off suicide car bomb attack and engaging in an hour-long firefight before being shot by Afghan commandos. At least two civilians were killed and some 30 wounded during the attack.
In a video of the event, the initial massive explosion visibly shocked the parliamentary chamber, throwing up a huge cloud of smoke and debris which engulfed the MPs, who subsequently had to flee for their lives amidst a clatter of gunfire and continuing explosions.
The Taliban has launched an escalating series of attacks on government targets since the beginning of the group’s yearly spring offensive. Taliban fighters nearly captured provincial capital of Kunduz during clashes in northern districts this weekend, marking the closest the insurgency has come to controlling such a large city since the 2001 the fall of Taliban regime to the US-led international forces.
The ranks of the insurgency against the US-backed government are swelling as thousands of fighters flood into Afghanistan, including militants affiliated with ISIS. More 7,000 foreign fighters are active in operations against the government, including Uzbeks, Tajiks, Pakistanis and Chechens.
The ability of the Taliban to come within striking distance of an ongoing parliamentary session exposes the chinks in the security set-up. This is disturbing since the counter-insurgency operations have been in place for nearly 15 years. On their way to parliament, the insurgents in a vehicle packed with explosives passed through several layers of checkpoints.
During the lead-up to the official US “withdrawal” at the end of 2014, Washington made clear that the formal handover of power in no way altered its determination to maintain a firm foothold in the country. In November 2014, one month prior to the official end of the US war, President Obama authorized US forces remaining in Afghanistan to continue combat operations, signing a Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) which granted US forces blanket legal immunity. It also empowered US forces to continue detaining Afghan POWs in a system of prisons and torture centres across the country. Simply put the curtains are not going to come down early on American military involvement in Afghanistan
-By Thomas Gaist, wsws.org